The Story of Supernatural
by AfireLove1998
Summary: Shia Colten-Singer is the adoptive daughter of Bobby Singer. Growing up, her life was normal, two parents and a white picket fence. Shia's life took an odd turn when a woman appears in her room, claiming to be her mother. Now, she's hunting down demons, ghosts, and ghouls along with the Winchester brothers. [Vol 1. Seasons 1-3]. Dean x OC.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

PROLOGUE

~September 23, 1995 (approx. 7:32 p.m.) — the home of Diane and Frank Robinson~

TEN YEARS AGO

~•~

The young girl with long black hair, known as Shia, was at home sitting at the kitchen table; enjoying the company of her mother and father. The family hummed to the tunes of the radio as they prepared for dinner.

"Just a small town girl

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Just a city boy

Born and raised in south Detroit

He took the midnight train goin' anywhere..."

Shia felt the breeze of a the fall day hit her cheek as placed the plates of the table. She sucked in her breath, not liking the cold. She quickly walked over to the cracked window, closing it swiftly.

"Why aren't you singing anymore, love?" Diane asked her daughter, noticing her harmonies were no longer clashing with hers.

"Did either of you open this window?" Shia asked, mostly out of curiosity. She knew that someone had to have opened it.

"I didn't," Frank said as he looked up from his newspaper.

"I didn't as well," Diane added. "Maybe Gina, the maid, left it open. She tends to do that at times."

"Oh, makes sense." Shia mumbled. "Tell her to close it next time once she leaves. Burglary happens a lot more now..."

"Shia's right. Be sure Gina knows that, Diane."

"Alright. I'll mention it to her in the morning." Diane said with a sweet smile. "Dinner is ready."

~•~

"And I told coach Diaz that I would be much better as a goalie this season...she told me she'll think about it. Can you believe that?" Shia said as she ranted to her parents about the events she goes through at school daily.

"I'm sure she'll make the best decision for you and the team. Honestly, I think you'll do fantastic in the field. You were great last season." Diane told her daughter before stuffing salad in her mouth.

"She's great at the sport in general. Whatever Diaz decides should be fine."

Shia nodded at her parents. "So, dad, how's the business going?"

"Well, we took a hit in stocks but as of right now...one of the stocks we invested in are hitting the sky limits. If we sale it early tomorrow morning, I'll be able to pay for your college." Frank said as he playfully winked at his daughter.

"That's a relief." Diane should with a chuckle.

The family continued to share their thoughts on work and their day for thirty more minutes. Shia laughed and talked for most of time, but then her stomach started to churn.

"Darling, are you okay? Your face is going green." Diane asked.

"I don't think so, mom."

"You might have out done yourself with the food. Head on to bed, I'll bring you some medicine in a few minutes."

"Feel better, sweet pea." Frank told his daughter as she left the kitchen.

~•~

Shia closed the door to her room, sighing as she took her jersey off and her blue tank top on.

"Hopefully I'll feel better just in time for tomorrow's game." She mumbled to herself right before turning off her lights. She got into her bed and snuggled into her pillow.

Suddenly, her door slammed.

Alarmed, she quickly lifted her head from her pillow.

"Mom?" She called into the dark room. "Mom, turn on the lights."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" An unfamiliar voice responded. The young girl gasped softly as she backed up to the wall.

"Who's there?"

"You're in danger. You must come with me."

"What the hell? I'm going insane. This must be some weird, vivid dream." Shia mumbled to herself.

"I'm afraid not." The voice said as the lights in the room came on. Shia could now put a face to that voice. It was a woman with dark hair and dark skin. Her face was in a shape of a diamond, her brown eyes sparkled in a god like way. Her beauty was undeniable.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Athena, goddess of wisdom and war."

Shia sat there with mouth opened wide. "You've got to be shitting me."

"No...I'm not...shitting you."

"Okay, well, if this is not a dream. Hopefully, it is. What do you want?" Shia asked. "I have to be honest. I'm seconds away from screaming."

"Please don't," Athena asked softly, "you're in danger."

"Why does my safety concern you? How am I in danger?"

"They never told you..."

"What are you on about, lady?"

Athena looked up at the child and took a breath before uttering the words, "You're adopted."

Shia's face showed she was shocked but she couldn't grasped the news. "I'm what?"

"Adopted. You see, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl fifteen years ago..."

"That doesn't mean I'm the little girl you gave birth to." Shia said as she shook her head.

"I named you Shia. Shia Sharaye Colten." Athena informed the girl. "You took their last name once they adopted you."

Shia stayed silent. She thought her being adopted explained a lot of things. Like how she didn't look like either of her parents or how none of them could give her blood when she needed emergency surgery one year. Shit, it was true.

She was adopted.

"So, you're saying–"

"That you're a demi god? Yes. You must come with me. You're in danger."

"Who's trying to hurt me?" Shia asked as she slowly climbed out of bed.

"This being, it calls itself Azazel. Filthy little bugger."

"What does it want with me?"

"To change destiny. And I cannot allow that. Grab your things, darling."

"Just wait a minute, will you?" Shia said as she sat on her bed.

"We don't have a minute, he'll be here soon."

"Will I ever see them again?" Shia asked, referring to her par– adoptive parents.

"No. After tonight, they'll have no memories of you." Athena told her daughter. The goddess slowly walked over to the teenage girl. "This is odd news, I know. And you take it so well but I will not allow your death to happen so soon. You're my child and I love you. You must understand that I have to look out for you. It's my duty as a parent."

"Isn't there some law forbidding you to help me?"

"I'm sure there is but I've always been a rebel. There's a reason why I love war." Athena said with a smug smile. The same smile Shia had, that's where she gets it from. "Come now, you must meet with an old friend of mine...Bobby Singer. He shall teach you the light of things. You will be safe."

"Okay. Let me grab a few things."

~•~

"So, how am I supposed to get to South Dakota?" Shia asked the goddess, Athena.

"I will take you there."

"With what car?" Shia asked looking around to see no car in front of her house.

"Close your eyes." Athena said as she placed a hand on Shia's cheek. Doing what she was told, she closes her eyes.

"Now, open." Shia heard Athena whisper. She opened her eyes to see a house in front of her, a house that she has not seen before.

"How in the–" Shia started. "This is all crazy. I'll play along though."

Shia cautiously walked towards the front door. She noticed a car, it was a '67 chevy impala. It was in beautiful condition and it was all black.

Shia whistled, "Damn. Nice car."

Seconds later, Shia found herself at the front door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. There was no answer, so she knocked again but a little harder. "Come on, it's getting a little cold out here."

The door opened quickly, the person who opened it was a boy; maybe a few years older than Shia. He had short blonde-brown hair and green eyes. His skin was tan and he was a few inches taller than the girl he stood in front of him. He stared blankly at Shia. He noticed the glasses on her face and that her hair was in a ponytail, she looked a lot younger than him.

"Uh, kid, don't you think it's a little late for selling candy or whatever?" The boy asked Shia. Shia was a little lost for words, she was confused as to why she couldn't speak.

"You mute or something?"

"What?" Shia asked, finally gaining her speech.

"What do you want, kid?"

"You're only a few years older than me, don't call me a kid." Shia snapped at the young man. He gave her a shocked look, then he smirked. The girl had guts, he liked that. "I'm looking for Bobby Singer."

He gave her a hard look, "What do you want with him?"

"Don't you think it's rude to answer the door of someone else's home, you idjit?" An older man asked from behind the young man. "Dean, go on to the kitchen and eat."

The young man, Dean, gave Shia once last look over before leaving.

"Um, Bobby Singer?" Shia asked as she subconsciously played with her fingers. She was hoping that the man was a lot nicer than he looked. He had a resting hard face, coated by his beard. He looked dirty, as if he's been working all day.

"Yup, that's me. What can I do for you?" Bobby asked. "Chocolate or mints?"

"I'm not a Girl Scout." Shia quickly said. "My name is Shia–"

"Say no more. I know who you are." Bobby said with his gruff voice. "Athena told me everything. You're her daughter and she needs me to help you survive while taking on the role as your father."

"Pretty much."

Bobby nodded, "Come on in, there's some food waiting in the kitchen. Let me get your bags."

Shia gave him her two duffle bags before walking into the kitchen. She wasn't hungry but she could really use something to drink.

She walked in on a conversation between Dean and two other people. As soon as the older man noticed her, he stopped talking. All eyes were in her.

"Uh, hi." She greeted them awkwardly. Dean's eyes stayed on her.

"Who are you?" The youngest boy in the room asked. "I'm Sam."

"My name is Shia." She said avoiding the gazes coming her way.

"John, Sam, and Dean...this Shia, I adopted her. She'll be here every time you come over. So, get use to her." Bobby said from behind Shia. He made things less awkward, Shia was grateful for that.

"Why don't you come over here and eat something, Shia?" John told the girl. "I have to have a word with Bobby."

Shia glanced up at Bobby, he nodded at her. She walked over and sat beside Dean, it was the only chair available at the moment. John and Bobby walked into other room to more than likely discuss the new person in the house.

"They're probably talking about you." Sam told the girl in front of him.

"Shut up, Sam." Dean said in a hush tone.

"I agree with him. They're probably talking about me."

"You don't know that. Dad's about to leave for a hunt. We're gonna be here for a few weeks."

"Really?" Sam asked, his eyes sparkling. Although, he wouldn't be with his dad...Sam always felt somewhat normal when they would stay with Bobby rather than traveling all the time.

"Why else would we be here?" Dean asked his brother rhetorically. He eyes then went to Shia who was stabbing at her steak. "You gonna eat that?"

"You can have it."

Dean smirked before grabbing her food, "thanks. I can get use to you."

~•~

~April 19, 1996 (approx. 3:17 p.m.)~

The months went by quickly, and Shia learned about everything quickly. She knew that if her mother was real that other beings had to be real as well. She started to get close to Sam and Dean, they were her friends. Sam was like the little brother she always wanted. But with Dean, it was different. They connected on another level. It was easy for him to talk to her. She made him laugh in ways that he didn't think anyone could make him laugh.

If she had a problem with someone at school, Dean was there to handle it for her. They would train together.

"If you're going to punch me, you better mean it." Dean said to Shia as she got ready for her afternoon mixed martial arts training session.

"I'm a trained professional, Dean. I don't want to hurt you." Shia said with a smirk. Dean chuckled.

"You hurt me? Come on sweetheart, not a chance."

Suddenly, Shia swung her hardest at Dean's face, he easily blocked it. Then she started to kick at him, to which he grabbed her leg, spinning her around and putting her in a position to where she was on the ground and he was hovering her.

"You were saying?" Dean asked with a cheeky grin. Shia countered him to where she was on top. "I love it when you take control like that."

Shia rolled her eyes, "you wish, Winchester." Shia got up and started at her punching bag. Dean stopped her as he inched closer to her.

"I'm not the only one who wishes." Dean said with a wink before leaving her alone to train. Shia watched him leave, her face getting heated from blushing so hard.

~•~

"The hunt was alright. It was a ghost, we dug her up. Quick salt and burn." Dean told Shia as she made him a sandwich.

"That sounds exciting." Shia said as she spread the mayo on the bread. "You know, I wish I could hunt more. I wouldn't want it to be a constant thing...just whenever I needed to get steam off...I want to hunt."

"We should hunt together." Dean said as he took a sip from his drink. "I mean when you're old enough to leave the house without Bobby's say so."

Shia turned around to look at the young hunter. "I'd like that."

"Yeah?" Dean asked. Shia gave him a small smile. "You and me...against the world."

"That has a ring to it." Shia said as she handed Dean his ham sandwich. Dean took it from her, his free hand lingering on her skin.

Dean's eyes went from her eyes to her lips. Shia sucked in her breath as Dean inched closer to her lips. Then, their lips touched, the sparks between them was unbelievable. Shia missed his lips as soon as they left hers. Dean felt the same way.

"Dean..." Shia whispered.

"Dean! Shia!" Sam called out. The pair split from each other as Sam walked in. "I'm not feeling so hot."

Shia reacted to his words instantly. "Oh Sam." She felt his head, he was very warm. "Okay, let's get you to bed."

"Feel better, bud." Dean told his little brother as Shia guided him upstairs.

~•~

"Your powers are growing," Bobby said as he flipped through the pages of his book on Greek mythology.

"I would assume so." Shia said as her brown eyes went to a blue, white color. Her eyes could be compared to the eyes of Storm, a fictional character in the DC comics. She began to manipulate the object in front of her, allowing it to levitate over the table it sat on. "I mean, I'm getting older."

"When you want to tell the boys?"

"When it'll be absolutely necessary for them to know." Shia guided the object back in place before looking at the man she now calls dad. "I don't want them to think I'm a freak."

"You ain't a freak. I don't want to ever hear you say something like that again!" Bobby snapped. The older hunter wanted to protect his daughter from her own insecurities. He knew she wasn't a freak, she didn't ask to be born. As long as she use her powers for good, he'll never think less of her. "You need to understand that you're wanted and you belong." Bobby walked out the room, getting ready to start dinner for him and his kid.

Shia watched him walk off. He was right, she was wanted and she belonged.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• A/N

HOWDY! It's the new and improved prologue of my Supernatural series! Thank you so much for reading if you're new. Even if you're not new, thanks for rereading and giving this book another go. My plan is to fix the chapters I wrote at age fifteen, just to make them a little bit better. You guys deserve the best so...

After I finish that quick task, I shall upload the last chapter for this book! And then on to Vol 2.

Also, the lovely actress who plays Shia is portrayed by the lovely Tika Sumpter! I love her and figured she would be a perfect fit. But if you rather imagine Shia in your own way, go right ahead.

Until next time...Bye! xoxo


	2. Chapter 2: The Woman In White (1x01)

"She's a good girl, loves her mama

Loves Jesus and America too

She's a good girl, crazy about Elvis

Loves horses and her boyfriend too

It's a long day living in Reseda

There's a freeway running through the yard

And I'm a bad boy because I don't even miss her

I'm a bad boy for breaking her heart..." — John Mayer, Free Fallen.

~May 4, 2004 (approx. 12:10 p.m.) HOME OF BOBBY AND SHIA SINGER~

Shia was washing the dishes from this morning breakfast. Bobby was out on a hunt for the next few days. His old hunting buddy, Rufus, called him and asked for help on his newest hunt.

Shia was stuck on phone duty, which was boring for her since no one needed any help nowadays.

The spring day was going by slowly. Shia occasionally played with Rumsfeld to speed up time but even the dog didn't help.

Shia sighed deeply, "Is this what my life has come to?"

Just then, the sound of an engine that she knew far too well rumbled into her driveway.

"No fucking way." Shia mumbled under her breath as she looked outside to see her old friend, Dean Winchester come out of the driver seat. She ran to the door, opening it before Dean could knock.

Shia wrapped her arms around the six foot one man and held him close to her. Although Dean didn't expect the hug, it didn't take him long to react.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shia asked as she pulled away from him. "Dean, I can't believe you're here."

"Yeah, I wanted to see you," Dean said before giving Shia a look over. It's been about a year since they have seen each other, he made sure that Bobby wasn't at home each time.

"You're supposed to call before coming over, what if my dad was here?"

"Bobby ain't here?"

Shia shook her before crossing her arms. "No, he went out to help a friend on a hunt. I'm by myself."

"Oh really," Dean asked with a cheeky grin. "Looks like we have the place to ourselves." Dean placed his hand on Shia's waist as he began to kiss her neck.

"Oh no you don't." Shia said as gently pushed Dean back. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's John? How come you have the impala?"

"Whoa. Whoa. One question at a time, chatter box." Dean said, licking his lips before speaking once more. "I was on a hunt."

"And?" Shia asked, her hands motioning for him to continue.

"I got cut," Dean said as he lifted his shirt to reveal his wound.

"Shit," Shia gasped at the open wound. "Come inside. I have to stitch that up for you."

Shia gently helped Dean in. "You couldn't have been more careful? What the hell were you hunting?"

"Vengeful spirit."

"Apparently very vengeful." Shia said, pulling out her first aid kit.

"This would have never happened if you would've left with me a few months ago." Dean told her. Shia's eyes found its way to Dean's. He was already staring at her with intensity, not the bad kind.

"I can't leave daddy. He'd freak." Shia whispered. "But I did tell him I need to get out of the house for a while. Go soul searching." Dean gave her a small smile.

"You're such a hippie."

"I'm proud of it." Shia continued to clean Dean's wound in comfortable silence. Dean stared at the young woman in front of him, he loved how concentrated she was on his cut. He knew that she was making sure he was very well taken care of.

"There. You're finished." Shia said as she got up to wash her hands. Dean pulled down his shirt.

"Thanks."

"What are you doing?" Shia asked as she turned around. "You need to get out of that shirt and those pants."

"Already?" Dean asked with a small smile. "You're never in the mood this early."

Shia rolled her eyes before snorting at Dean's comment. "I need to wash the blood out, you flirt."

"Right. Let's face it, you love seeing me naked."

"Maybe." Shia chuckled. "Who knows?"

"I know." Dean told her as he pulled her close to him.

"You're gonna get me all bloody. You need to–" Dean cut her off by placing his lips against hers. Their lips moved in a complete rhythm. Dean flickered his tongue on her bottom lip, telling her that he wanted more. And more was what he got.

~•~

"Are you sure you're not sore?" Shia asked, referring to Dean's wound, as she buckled her bra. The pair had a steamy love making session for the past hour or so.

"I feel fine. The stitches look fine."

"I should've said no to you." Shia giggled as she got back into bed, cuddling next to Dean's unharmed side.

"You never say no to me." Dean said with amusement.

"Maybe I should start." Dean and Shia laughed together for a moment.

"So, how come you have the impala?"

"Dad gave it to me. He has this big truck. I guess the impala is a thing that's going to get passed down in the family." Dean told the woman that was snuggled to his side. He began to play with her hair, the amount of intimacy he shows this woman will never stop surprising him.

"It's a cool thing to have." Shia said before placing soft kisses on Dean's chest. "Dean, how long have we been doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"This. You come over...we have sex for the next few days...then you leave." Shia started tracing circles on Dean's fit stomach.

"We've been doing this for about three years."

"Oh."

Dean licked his lips. "I don't want to do this anymore."

Shia lifted her head off Dean's shoulder, she felt her heart break. She knew that one day he'd end it but she didn't expect it to be so soon. "What?"

"I'm tired of sneaking around and then leaving."

"But we could–"

"I want you to come with me." Dean told her as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to come with me. We've talked about this for a while. Please, I could use your help."

Shia knew that if she were to say no that it would effect their relationship but she really didn't want to leave her dad behind. She cared deeply for the old hunter. But she also cared deeply for Dean.

"Okay."

Dean was a little shocked to hear her agreement. "Okay?"

"Let me pack my things. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Dean smiled at Shia, he gently pulled her in for another kiss.

~October 28, 2005 (approx. 9:43 p.m.) STANFORD UNIVERSITY~

Shia stood outside of the bar Sam and his friends were crowded in. Shia smiled at how grown Sam looked, it was hard to believe that he's now taller than her. Deep down she felt guilty for the appearance she was to make during his "apple pie lifestyle."

"Dean, why bother him? He's happy now, we can find John on our own. I'm pretty sure Sam will say the same thing. I'll feel terrible to ask him to come with us." Shia said as she watched a couple people leave the bar.

"Dad's missing. Don't you think his son would want to help find him?" Dean asked as he walked back to the Impala, opening the car door getting ready to sit in the driver's seat.

"I'm sure that Sam will be concerned, but to ask him to leave his new life for a weekend is...I don't know."

Dean sighed as Shia scooted inside the impala, taking her place in the passenger seat.

"Babe, I know that you're worried about Sam coming but...trust me, okay?" Dean asked, placing his hand under her chin; his thumb swaying against her skin. Shia nodded as she folded her arms, trying to create warmth.

~•~

The pair stood in front of Sam's apartment complex. Shia's still nervous about seeing Sam again but this was something that needed to be done. Dean looked at the woman beside him, noticing her discomfort.

"I'll go get Sam if you want to wait here." Dean said, giving her an option.

Shia shook her head, "No, it's okay. Let's go."

They both walked up the stairs but they both had different ideas on how to get into Sam's apartment. Shia raised her eyebrow.

"Dean, where the hell are you going?"

"The window..." Dean said nonchalantly.

"There's this thing called a door. You know how to pick it."

"That's too much noise, Shia. You can do that but I'll get in before you." Dean said as he continued to unlock the window. He finally got it open and looked over at Shia. "You coming?"

Shia gave him a blank look, "I'm picking the door." Dean shrugged before going inside.

Shia watched Dean leave, "Idjit." Shia walked a few feet over to the door, she noticed a plant causally sitting there. A lightbulb went off in her head, she lifted the plant bowl to see a spare key. "Too easy."

She promptly opened the door, closing it hurriedly behind her. She heard a few clinks and sounds of struggle so she figure Sam and Dean must be fighting.

"Whoa, easy, tiger." Dean said in smooth, jokingly matter.

"Dean?" Sam asked, his face full of shock. Dean started laughing. "Dean, dude, you scared the crap out of me!"

"That's 'cause you're out of practice." Dean said. Sam grabbed Dean's hand and yanked, slamming his heel into Dean's back pushing Dean to the floor.

"Or not." Sam tapped Dean twice where Sam was holding him. "Okay, Sammy, get off of me." Sam rolled to his feet and pulled Dean up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked, clearing confused.

"Well, I was looking for a beer." Dean said seriously but it was obvious he was really joking.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked clearly not amused by Dean's banter.

"Okay. All right. We gotta talk." Dean said becoming more serious than he was a few moments ago.

"Uh, the phone?" Sam said. Shia thought the same thing. Dean could have at least attempt to call the boy.

"If I would have called, would you have picked up?" Dean asked. Earning silence from his little brother.

"I'd take that as a no." Shia said making her presence known. Sam turned around to see his best friend standing there with the warmest smile.

"Shia?" Sam asked like he couldn't believe she was in front of him.

"Yeah! Give me a hug! Look at you!" Sam grabbed her and gave her a warm, tight hug. Smiling at the fact he's actually hugging his childhood friend.

"Finally picked the lock?" Dean asked Shia.

"No, I found a spare key." Shia informed him. "Here ya go, Sam." Shia threw the key. Of course Sam caught it easily.

All of the sudden the lights were flicked on and the trio could see a blonde, slim young woman standing there looking towards Sam. She was beautiful. Her pale, milky skin glowed by the lamp she stood near. Her hair fell perfect down her back. She poked her pink lips out in confusion.

"Sam?" She asked. Shia could understand if she was probably wondering who the hell these people were, standing in her living room. The boys turned to look at her.

"Jess. Hey. Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." Sam told Dean. Dean gave his brother's girlfriend a once over. Shia didn't like the way he looked at her, the ping of jealousy stung at her brain. She tried to not become a clingy, overprotective girl that Dean had a fling with but she couldn't help it when it came to Dean. He has that effect on her.

"Wow, Sam, thanks for introducing me." Shia said feeling a bit left out.

"Oh, Shia, I'm sorry. Jessica, this is my best friend. I told you about her, right?" Sam said smiling at his girlfriend, she looked at Shia and then at Dean.

"Wait, your brother Dean? And your best friend, Shia?" Jessica smiled at them, she then looked down to notice Shia's stylish combat boots. She really like them. "I really like your boots." Jessica complimented Shia. Shia could tell it was sincere and not total bullshit.

"Oh, thanks. Dean bought them for me." Shia said with a smile, blushing slightly. Sam chuckled a bit at the thought of Dean shopping. Dean tried to hide his small smile. Jessica smiled. Dean grinned and moved closer toward her.

"Oh, I love the Smurfs. You know, I gotta tell ya. You are completely out of my brothers league." Dean said to the blonde. Shia scoffed softly at the comment. Shia thought there was no way Dean tried to flirt with his brother's girlfriend. Jessica shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

"Uh, let me go put something on." Jessica said as she turned around, but Dean stopped her.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously." Dean said with a smirk on his face. It was Shia's turn to shift on her feet. It was uncomfortable for her to hear Dean flirt with other girls, knowing that they are intimate with each other almost every other night.

The tension in the room was becoming a bit too much for Shia, so instead of staying, she decided to stand beside the impala and wait for Dean to break the news to Sam.

"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad." Dean said getting close to the impala.

"Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Sam reminded Dean. Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's whining about their life growing up.

"Yeah, well, what was he supposed to do?"

"Tell me that I shouldn't be afraid of the dark."

Shia raised her eyebrow at that.

"Don't be afraid of the dark?" Dean asked his brother, incredulously. "Sam, you know what's out there!"

"I have to agree with Dean on this one. John protected you. Although it was a little extreme, you're still alive to this day." Shia informed her best friend her view on the way they were raised. Sam knew better than try to argue with Shia so he heard her out.

"We can't do this alone, Sammy." Dean said stepping in front of Sam.

"Yes you guys can." Sam said to Dean.

"Yeah, well, we don't want to. Trust me, Sam, we wouldn't come here if we didn't need you. So, please. Come with us." Shia said to him. Staring at him with her chocolate eyes. Sam couldn't resist her eyes, she silently begged him to come along.

"What was he hunting?" Sam asked, giving in to Shia's eyes. Dean smiled and opened the trunk of the Impala, then the spare-tire compartment where the arsenal was secretly kept. Dean propped the compartment open with a shotgun and started to dig through the clutter.

After finally convincing Sam that John was in trouble, he agreed to go with Dean and Shia. In honor of Sam's return, Shia climbed in the back seat and went straight to sleep.

~•~

"So, you two are hunting together now?" Sam asked when noticed that Shia was fast asleep in the backseat. Dean looked from the road to his brother.

"Yeah, we've been hunting together a little over a year now."

"And Bobby allows her?" Sam asked with a dazed expression. He couldn't believe that Bobby would let his daughter out in daylight.

"It was hard to get him to trust me enough to make sure she's safe but he calmed down after a month or so." Dean explained. "He likes her to visit him and help out from time to time, that's understandable."

"Yeah." Sam nodded to himself. "She's so great, you know. Best personality by far."

"Oh I know. It's fun having her around, wouldn't trade her for the world." Dean said but then mentally cursed himself for slipping up. Sam noticed the choice of words Dean had to say. Instead of questioning Dean, he let it go.

~•~

~October 29, 2005 (approx. 9:24 a.m.)~

By the time Shia woke up, it was morning and they were stopped at a gas station.

"Oh. Hey, Sam." Shia greeted as she reached in her bag to find a brush to tame her wild, thick black hair. Sam looked back at her and smiled.

"So, you and Dean, huh?"

"What are you on about, geek?" Shia asked him while looking at him like he was crazy. But in reality, he was right on the money.

"You really thought you could hide that hickey from me?"

Shia's hand immediately slapped over an area on her neck. Sam started laughing. The girl looked at him with confusion.

"There is no hickey." Sam told her. Shia rolled her eyes as she continued to brush her hair. "So, you guys are together..."

"We're not together..."

"But you guys are a thing?"

"We're just...I don't know." Shia said as she shook her head. She really couldn't tell Sam what they were, she didn't know. "You'll never catch Dean being affectionate until we're behind closed doors, I can tell you that much."

"Well I saw that coming. You guys made "eye babies" when we were growing up."

Shia snorted at Sam's choice of words. "Oh shut up, Sam. I was a dorky, sixteen year old girl with braces. And huge glasses."

"Sure, but Dean wouldn't shut up about you."

Shia raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah." Sam said with a slight shrug. "He always asked dad if we could just stay at Bobby's during every hunt. But dad didn't like that idea. He knew why Dean was so eager to go over to your dad's house."

"Me?"

"Yeah, Shia, you." Sam said with a small smile.

Dean made his way over to the car with a bag full of snacks in his hand.

"Hey, you want breakfast?" Dean asked Sam. Sam shook his head.

Dean looked over at Shia and smiled. "Hey babe, want some breakfast?"

"Depends on what you got me."

Dean smirked, "I got your favorite. Chocolate covered donuts with chocolate milk."

Shia blushed slightly, "you remember. Thanks." Shia grabbed her things from Dean.

"How could I forget?"

"So, how did you pay for all of this stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam asked. Dean gave Sam a small bitch face look. Did he really think they had actually jobs?

"Yeah, well, hunting isn't exactly pro ball career. Besides all we do is apply, it's not our fault they give them to us." Dean said.

"Yeah? And what names did you write on the application this time?"

Sam asked as he swung his legs back inside the car and closed the door.

"Uh, Burt Aframian." Dean answered honestly.

"I voted against the names by the way." Shia told Sam as she put her in a high ponytail.

Dean got into the driver seat and put his soda and chips down. "And his son Hector. And daughter in law, Helen. Scored three cards out of the deal." Dean closed his car door.

"That sounds about right. I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection." Sam said.

There were at least a dozen cassettes in the box on Sam's lap; some have album art, others are hand-labeled.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two." Sam held up a tape for every band he named. "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Dean took the box labeled "Metallica" from his baby brother. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"Well, house rules, Sammy." Dean starts to say.

Shia rolled her eyes. "Oh here we go."

Dean popped the classic rock mix tape in the player. "Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole." Dean dropped the Metallica box back in the box of tapes and started the engine.

"I disagree with that rule completely Dean." Shia said as she leaned up in her seat.

"That's why backseat can shut her cakehole." Shia gave Dean a look he knew all too well. Oh no, here it comes.

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old." Sam addressed his brother quickly before Shia could chew his ass out. The tape started to play AC/DC's "Back in Black." "It's Sam, okay?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud." Dean said with a grin before flashing his brother a smile. He looked in the rear view mirror and gave Shia a wink before driving off.

~•~

~October 29, 2005 (approx. 11:28 a.m.) JERICHO, CALIFORNIA~

The arrived at the bridge where the car of a young boy was found.

"Check it out." Dean said as he noticed the police cars. Sam leaned forward for a closer look. Shia was on the phone with morgues throughout the county, in case John has died on the job. Luckily, no one there fit his description.

Shia hung up the phone and leaned forward to get a closer look at the scene in front of her. "You and Sam go, Dean. Three people is a bit suspicious in our case."

"I know, babe." Dean said as he opened the box full of fake ID's, they were mostly the identification of John and Dean. Shia only had very few since Dean never liked the thought of her in the hunting field. "Let's go, Sam."

Shia watched as the boys walked over to the working officers. While they questioned the officers, she opened her laptop.

"11% left? Shit." Shia cursed once she heard the beeping noise coming for her device, signaling that it's going to die soon. "Deaths in JERICHO, California." Just then 12 results popped up dating all the way back to the 70's.

Caroline Franklin, Homicide, 1974.

George Reed, Homicide, 1979.

Hershel Cyrus, Homicide, 1980.

Constance Welch, Suicide, 1981.

Cody Welch, Drowned, 1981.

Anna Welch, Drowned, 1981.

Frank O'Hara, Homicide, 1983.

Katy Cyrus, Suicide, 1984.

Jason Devine, Homicide, 1987.

Tia Norway, Overdosed (Suicide), 1991.

Diane Richards, Homicide, 1995.

Gary Witherspoon, Homicide, 2003.

"Looks like this place has had many deaths," Shia mumbled to herself when she noticed the "see more (104) " tab. Then something occurred to her when she looked at the names in front of her. The three names that shared deaths in the same year also shared last names. She went to the search engine to find a horrible story on Constance Welch.

— A local woman's drowning death was ruled a suicide, the county Sheriff's Department said earlier today. Constance Welch, 24, of 4636 Breckenridge Road, leapt off Sylvania Bridge, at mile 33 of Centennial Highway, and subsequently drowned last night.

Deputy J. Pierce told reporters that, hours before her death, Ms. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services. In a panicked tone, Ms. Welch described how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, in the bathtub, after leaving them alone for several [minutes]. She reported that their complex-[...]

"What happened to my children was a terrible accident. And it must have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband Joseph Welch. "Now I ask that you all please respect my privacy during this trying time."

At the time of the children's death and Ms. Welch's subsequent suicide, Mr. Welch was at the Frontier auto salvage yard, where he works the graveyard shift as associate manager.

"Connie might have been quiet, but she was the sweetest, most caring girl I ever knew," said Deanna Kripke, a neighbor. "She just doted on those children."

"Looks like I found something. Just have to look up the lore on suicide when influenced by heartache—" Just as Shia was typing, her laptop died. Shia rolled her eyes and frowned at the black screen. "Just my fucking luck." She closed the laptop, just to see FBI agents walking towards Sam and Dean. "Oh shit."

They walked away from the agents smoothly.

Sam and Dean got in the car. Dean quickly started the engine.

"What was that about?" Shia asked referring to the FBI agents.

"Nothing we couldn't handle." Dean told her as he looked in her big brown eyes through the rear view mirror. "You need to get down and cover yourself, I'll have to drive past those douchebags." Shia nodded and quickly laid on the floor of the impala, covering herself with a blanket.

~•~

They were now in town looking for, Amy, the girlfriend of the victim. Shia noticed a girl with dark hair putting up signs, she softly nudged Dean to look towards the girl.

"I bet you that's her." Dean said to Shia and Sam.

"Yeah." Sam agreed as they walked up to the young woman.

"You must be Amy." Dean said to her.

"Yeah." Amy said said blankly, as if she didn't want to talk to them.

"Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy." Amy looked at Shia with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's she?"

"My girlfriend," Dean said quickly as he wrapped his arm around Shia's shoulder. Shia looked at Dean trying to mask her surprised expression. In a weird way, she liked the idea of being labeled as Dean's girlfriend.

"He never mentioned you to me."

Amy walked away. The trio walked with her.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So, we're looking for him too," Shia told Amy. "and we're kinda asking around." Another young woman with dark long hair, came up to Amy and placed a hand on her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" The girl asked her friend as her eyes flicked from the trio to Amy.

"Yeah." Amy answered her with a nod.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Sam asked.

As they walked into a diner, Shia grabbed Dean's arm.

"What?" Dean asked with a gentle expression.

"You and Sam interview the girls. I'm going to head to the library to finish up some research." Shia told him before walking off. Dean quickly grabbed her hand, causing her to turn to him. "Yeah?"

"Be careful, alright?" Dean said to her. "I don't like you running around by yourself."

"I'll be fine. Promise." Shia said before placing a quick kiss on Dean's lips. As she walked off, she froze. 'Did I really just do that?' She thought. Shia turned around to see Dean staring at her. He gave her a small smile. Shia blushed as she continued to walk off.

~•~

Tapping her foot outside the Library, Shia was waiting for the Winchester brothers to show up.

"What did you find?" Dean asked from behind Shia. Without thinking, Shia turned around throw a punch, but Dean caught her hand.

"Sorry, reflex." Shia said as Dean let go of her folded hand.

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked his best friend. Shia nodded and pulled out a stack of papers.

"Yeah, most of it is about this Constance woman. Her kids drowned and then she took high dive swimming lesson with the river. Unfortunately, she couldn't swim." Shia informed the boys as she passed them the printed papers. "What do you two get from the girls?"

"A girl would ask for a ride, the men are never seen again." Dean told her as he read through what Shia got.

"I feel like somehow that's all together with this Constance woman."

"Guys, check out this bridge," Sam said as he showed the picture Shia printed.

"It's the same bridge we were all at earlier," they all said in unison. They looked at each other with raised eyes brows.

"Are we gonna stare at each other or are we gonna get to work?" Shia said as she walked off. Dean and Sam shared a look before following after her.

~October 29, 2005 (approximately 4:32 a.m.) JERICHO BRIDGE~

It was night out. Dean parked the impala in front of the entrance from where the bridge started. The trio got out the car and started to walk the bridge.

Dean, Shia and Sam walked along the bridge, then stopped to lean on the railing and looked down at the river.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive..." Dean commented. Shia glared at Dean and hit his chest.

"Don't be so insensitive."

Dean rubbed his skin where she hit him, "Jeez. Sorry."

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked as he glanced over at Dean.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." Dean told his brother. Dean wrapped his arm around Shia's shoulders as they continued to walk the bridge. Sam followed behind them.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while." Dean commented. Sam stopped in his tracks, irritation flaring up in his mood.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday—"

"Monday. Right. The interview." Dean turned around, cutting Sam off.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" Dean asked, the hint of frustration and bitterness was visible in his voice. Shia sighed, she knew this conversation was going to turn ugly fast.

"Maybe. Why not?" Sam said with a shrug. "You gonna marry your girl?"

"Don't drag me into it." Shia said loud enough for both of the boys to hear. She folded her arms and walked further down the bridge.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?"

Sam took a step closer to his brother. "No, and she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean said before turning around, attempting to catch up with Shia. Sam followed closely behind him.

"And who's that?" Sam asked.

"You're one of us." Dean told him. Sam hurried to get in front of Dean.

"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." Sam informed Dean, firmly.

"You have a responsibility to—"

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

Dean grabbed Sam by the collar and shoved him up against the railing of the bridge. Shia heard the shuffle between the two and decided to run over to them.

"I think it's time for you two to cool down." Shia said before placing a hand on Dean's arm. "Dean, come on."

"Don't talk about her like that." Dean said to Sam, referring to their mother. Dean released Sam and walked away.

"Hey," Shia started to say.

"I don't want to talk about it." Dean told her quickly. Shia nodded, deciding to let it go. Dean looked up to see Constance standing at the edge of the bridge, he nudged Shia to look forward.

"Sam." Shia and Dean said in unison, which grabbed the younger Winchester's attention.

Sam walked up to stand next to Dean and Shia. Constance looked over at them, then stepped forward off the edge. Sam and Dean ran to the railing to look over it, Shia following closely behind them.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asked Shia and Sam.

"I don't know." Sam said.

Shia looked around her shoulders. "Something really shitty is about to happen, I can feel it." Dean placed his hand on the small of her back, just to prevent her from having a panic attack.

Behind them, the Impala's engine started and its headlights came on. The trio turned to look.

"What the—"

"Actual fuck?" Shia finished for Dean.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked. Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and jingled them. Sam glanced at them.

"Oh perfect." Shia said sarcastically once she noticed the keys in Dean's hand. The car jerked into motion, heading straight for them. They turned and ran.

"Dean? Shia? Go! Go!" Sam yelled as he ran. The car was moving faster than they were; when it got too close, Sam, Shia, and Dean dive over the railing. The car came to a halt.

~•~

Shia's eyes was shut tightly, she was expecting the cold water to hit her skin at anytime. Now was the bad time to be hydrophobic, she thought. She noticed that she wasn't going to fall because Sam was holding on to her hand as he held on to the railing.

"Help me out here, Shia" Sam said pulling her up a little. "Grab onto that railing." She successfully grabbed on the railing, beside Sam.

"Wait, where's Dean," Shia asked frantically as she looked directed towards the river.

"Dean?!" Sam shouted into the wind.

"What?!" An annoyed Dean asked as he laid on the ground covered in mud.

"Are you okay?" Shia asked.

Dean held up an "okay" gesture with his hand. "I'm super."

Sam and Shia shares a glance before Sam chuckled at his brother's discomfort. Shia shook her head and sighed, relieved that Dean was okay.

~•~

Dean shut the hood of his car and leaned on it.

"Your car all right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean shouted with an annoyed expression.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." Shia said as she wrapped her arms around her waist, holding herself. She still hasn't calmed down from her almost accident with tons of water.

Sam and Dean nodded in agreement with her.

"So where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked Dean. Sam settled on the hood next to Dean. Dean threw up his arms in frustration, then flicked mud off his hands. Sam and Shia sniffed the air before looking at Dean.

"You smell like a toilet." Sam told his brother. Shia's eyes widen at Sam's comment, she didn't think he would make his odor known. Dean looked at Shia for confirmation, she only gave him an awkward grin. Dean looked down, feeling embarrassed.

"How about we head to a motel and get cleaned up? We're not getting any younger here." Shia said as she opened the backseat door to the impala, getting in.

~October 30, 2005 (approximately 8:12 a.m.)~

After a few hours of looking for reasonable priced motels, they finally found the cheapest one.

Dean threw down his VersaBank MasterCard in the name of Hector Aframian on the handwritten guest ledger.

"One room, please." Dean told the older man. Dean was standing at the motel check-in desk, still filthy, with Sam and Shia right behind him. The Clerk picked up the card and looked at it.

"You guys having a reunion or something?" The older man asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month."

Dean looked back at Sam and Shia, giving them a knowing, hopeful look.

~•~

The motel door swung open. Sam was on the other side, having just picked the lock. Sam hid the picks and stood up. Shia slowly makes her way into the room first, Sam following behind her. Dean was just outside, playing lookout, until Sam reached out of the room to grab his shoulder and yank him inside. Sam closed the door behind them. They looked around—every vertical surface has papers pinned to it: maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, notes. There were books on the desk and assorted junk on the floor and bed, including something with a hazardous-materials symbol.

"Whoa." Sam said.

"Whoa is right." Shia said staring at all the symbols. Dean turned on a light by the bed and picked up a half-eaten hamburger sitting there. Sam stepped over a line of salt on the floor. Dean sniffed the burger and recoiled.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple days at least." Dean commented. Shia looked over and eyed him.

"I know you did not just sniff that old burger." Shia told him, in a scolding voice. Dean shrugged.

"How could we know its old if we don't sniff it?" Dean asked.

"It has mold on it, Dean." Shia said as she shook her head.

Sam fingered the salt on the floor and looked up. "Salt, cats-eye shells...he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in." Dean looked at the papers covering one wall. "What have you got here?"

"Centennial Highway victims." Dean said. Sam nodded. The victims seen on the wall include Mark Younger, William Durrell, Scott Nifong who disappeared in 1987 at age 25, and Marshall Parks. Mark, Durrell, and Nifong are all white males, judging by the photos. "I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?"

While Dean talked, Shia and Sam looked at the papers taped to the other walls. There's something about the Bell Witch, two people being burned alive, a skeletal person blowing a horn at several scared people with the note "MORTIS DANSE", a column about "Devils + Demons", another about "Sirens, Witches, the possessed", a wooden pentacle, and a note that says "Woman in White" above a printout of the Jericho Herald article on Constance's suicide.

Sam turned on another lamp.

"John figured it out." Shia said as she read over everything once again. Dean turned to look.

"What do you mean?"

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white." Sam told his brother. Dean looked at the photos of Constance's victims.

"You sly dogs." Dean said with a sly smirk. Dean turned back to Sam and Shia. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Shia said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure. He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." Sam said. Sam tapped the picture of Joseph Welch. The caption said he's thirty; the article dates to 1981, so he must be sixty-four. "If he's still alive."

Sam goes to look at something else. Dean looked at the picture below the Herald article, of a woman in a white dress.

"All right. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up." Dean said while his eyes laid on Shia, who was standing beside the bathroom door. Dean started to walk towards her.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam asked. Dean turned around to look at his baby brother. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."

Dean held up a hand. "No chick-flick moments." Sam laughed and nodded.

"All right. Jerk." Sam said.

"Bitch." Dean retorted.

"B-holes." Shia mumbled, with meant "brothers who are assholes."

Sam laughed again.

Dean walked over to Shia, she looked up at him. "Help me get cleaned up?"

"Sure." Shia said as Dean led her in the bathroom. Dean turned to his brother and gave him a wink. Sam scoffed, the thought of his brother and best friend made him cringe. But, in a way, he could see that Dean was different and he knew it was because of Shia.

~•~

"Just throw your dirty clothes in this bag. I'll wash them after we find your dad." Shia told Dean as he ripped off his shirt and turned on the hot, steamy shower water.

Dean noticed how Shia hasn't looked at him since the bridge. "You alright?" Dean asked as he took off his pants.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shia said with a tight smile. Dean stared at her.

"You really think you can lie to me?"

Shia sighed. "What do you want from me Dean?"

Dean brushed the loose curls out of her face, "I want the truth. What's wrong?"

"I almost lost you out there today." Shia said, looking into his beautiful emerald eyes. "That and I'm hydrophobic. I hate being surrounded by tons of water."

"Well, I'm here...and I'll make sure nothing ever happens to you." Dean said before kissing her soft, full lips. "You're mine." The sound of Dean's voice sent shivers down Shia's spine.

"You should be cleaning yourself up." Shia whispered against his lips.

"Yeah, with your help." Dean said before slowly slipping her jacket off her shoulders. Dean kissed her once more before taking off his boxers, throwing them near the bag of muddy clothes. He lifted Shia's shirt off in one swift motion, he looked at her for a moment...admiring her beautiful figure.

Shia unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down, along with her panties. Dean sucked in his breath, he was lucky to have a girl as beautiful as her. His dirty hands touched her skin.

"Dean, get in the shower," Shia said with a small smile when she noticed the mud traces Dean left on her skin. Dean nodded, grabbing her hand, guiding her in the shower with him.

Shia grabbed the shampoo that Dean used and squirted on his head. She ran her hand through his hair, making sure it was getting clean while Dean washed over his body with "Men & Spice" body wash. The water rinsed on his tan skin, ridding his body from the odorous mud from the river.

Dean gave Shia's body a look over. "See something you like?" Shia teased. Dean gave her a sly smirk before pulling her close to him. He kissed her lips as her held onto her nicely shaped ass, squeezing it gently. Shia moaned at the gesture, allowing Dean's tongue entrance in her mouth.

Dean's fingers made way to her clit, and he slowly made figure eight circles. He knew it make Shia go crazy.

"Shit, Dean." Shia moaned against his lips.

"I love it when you say my name." Dean told her as he connected his lips to her neck, bitting her gently but hard enough to leave a mark. His mark.

"Oh Dean, don't fucking stop."

"I'm just getting started." Dean pushed Shia against the shower wall, cupping her ass, telling her to jump. And so she did, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Kissing his soft, full lips hard. Becoming more desperate for Dean hard groin, Shia grind against him. Dean could feel the heat coming from her core. Dean pulled away from Shia's lips and looked her in the eyes as he slowly made his way inside of her. "Fuck." Shia whispered as she took Dean inside of her.

Dean's hand wrapped around Shia's neck as he pulled her close to him, so he could press his lips against hers once more.

Dean pumped inside of her slowly at first, but then he found his rhythm. He moved at a faster pace, hitting Shia's spot each time.

"Oh!" Shia would gasp after each thrust. Shia pulled his hair, her grip getting harder each time. Dean held Shia up higher, so he could rotate his tongue on her harden nipples. "Fuck! Dean."

"Say my fucking name, babe."

"Dean, please, don't stop." Shia said after each hard thrust. She was starting to feel the familiar bubbly sensation in her lower abdomen, it meant she was getting closer to cloud nine. "I'm so close, Dean."

"Me too baby." Dean whispered with each thrust getting sloppy. Just then the both hit their climax, holding on to each other as they rode out their high.

~•~

"You think Sam heard us?" Shia asked as she pulled up her pants.

Dean grinned. "He definitely heard you." Shia gave Dean a playfully glare before hitting his arm. Dean grabbed her hand, pulling her near him. "You know I meant it when I say that you're mine."

"Yours? As in..." Shia's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah." Dean said as he brushed a piece of wet hair behind her left ear. "You okay with that?"

"Hell yeah." Shia placed her hand behind Dean's neck and leaned forward to kiss him.

~•~

Shia walked out of the bathroom to see Sam on the phone, listening to his voicemail. She walked over to her duffle bag to grab a new pair of socks. "You should call her back, you know." Sam looked up at Shia. "She's probably worried sick about you."

"I know she's worried sick about me." Sam said with a sigh. "I just don't know what to tell her."

Shia walked over to Sam's bed, she sat by him before playing with his hair. It was a romantic gesture. Shia practically raised preteen Sam when they visited Bobby's house, so Shia knew playing with his hair calmed him down. "I'm not telling you to lie to her, Sam. And I'm not telling you to tell her the truth about what's going on. But you should call and tell her that you're okay. And that you'll see her soon."

Sam nodded. "You're right, I should."

Shia gave him a small smile. "I'm always right."

Dean, clean again, came out of the bathroom and grabbed his jacket. He shrugged it on one shoulder as he crossed the room.

"Hey, man. I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?" Dean asked Sam, ignoring the fact that Sam and Shia were sitting extremely close together.

"No." Sam said as he shook his head.

"Aframian's buying." Dean said as he waved his fake credit card around. Sam shook his head. "Well, what about you, babe? You hungry?"

"I'm hungry but I'm also tired. I don't feel like moving around." Shia said getting up from her spot on Sam's bed, strolling over to stand in front of Dean. "But you know what I like."

Dean's right arm wrapped around Shia's lower back, "Yes ma'am, I do." Dean kissed Shia gently.

"Guys, please." Sam said, interrupting the lovey dovey scene between his brother and best friend.

Dean grinned at Shia before head out the door.

"So, you guys are together?"

Shia turned around with a smile. "Yes, we're together."

Sam smirked before he started to listen to Jessica's messages again, his phone beeped. The caller ID was Dean's number. Sam rolled his eyes before answering it.

"What?" Sam said with an annoyed tone. Shia smiled knowing that he was talking to Dean.

Alarmed, Sam stood up. "What about you?"

"What's going on?" Shia asked.

Sam closed his phone before looking in the window to see an office coming near their room. "Shia, grab our things. Let's go."

Shia quickly grabbed their duffle bags before making her way to the back window, with Sam behind her. "Come on, Sam. We'll have to come back for the impala. Dean probably threw the keys under the car."

~•~

"Stay in the car. I don't want to over tower the guy with two people." Sam told Shia, who was lying down in the backseat. She gave Sam a look.

"Does it look like I was going to move anyways, Sam?" Shia asked before "resting her eyes." She was trying to remain calm, she was worried about Dean although she knew there was nothing to worry about.

Moments passed before heard voices out side the car.

"I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!" A man, known as Joesph Welch, said to Sam.

Joesph's face shook, whether from anger or grief it's impossible to tell. After a long moment, he turned away. Sam sighed before making his way back to the car.

"Let me guess, you told him about the woman in white." Shia asked from her place in the backseat.

"Yeah."

"Did he take it well?" Shia asked. Sam turned around and gave her a hard look. "What? It was a genuine question." Shia rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, maybe I was patronizing you a little."

"A little?"

"How are we going to get Dean out?" Shia asked, changing the subject. Sam threw her one of the phones that Dean had.

"Use your acting skills."

Shia smirked before dialing 911 and screaming to the top of her lungs. "OH MY GOD! I can hear gunshots on Whiteford Road, please hurry!" Shia quickly hung up the phone. Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

"Whiteford Road?"

Shia shrugged. "It's about fifteen minutes away from the station. Giving Dean some time to get the hell out of there."

"We gotta head to Constance house." Sam said, starting up the car. "She's buried there."

"That and she doesn't want to go home." Shia said making a good point.

~•~

After being on the road for five minutes, Sam's phone rang. Sam answered it, putting it on speaker.

"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal." Dean's voice said from the other side of the phone.

"You're welcome, Dean." Shia said, rolling her eyes for not getting the credit she deserves.

"Thanks, babe!" Shia grinned at Dean. "Listen, we gotta talk."

" Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop." Sam informed the older Winchester.

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?"

"I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet." Sam shook his head in frustration.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho." Shia and Sam's eyes widen from the news.

"What? How do you know?"

"I've got his journal." Dean told him.

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing." Shia said, mostly to Sam.

"Yeah, well, he did this time."

"What's it say?" Sam asked.

"Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going."

"Coordinates." Sam said.

"Where to?" Shia asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Dean told them.

"I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?" Sam asked, he was getting frustrated but he was also confused. Shia shook her head, she looked up to see Constance a few feet in front of the speeding Impala.

"Sam!" Shia shouted. Sam looked up and hit the brakes. The car went right through Constance as Sam brought it to a halt.

"Sam? Shia? Sam!" Dean shouted through the phone. Inside the car, Sam and Shia's breathing was hard. Constance was sitting in the back seat with Shia.

"Take me home." The ghost said to Sam.

Shia leaned towards the window. "Oh fuck."

"Take me home!" Constance said, getting irritated with Sam.

"Don't do it, Sam." Shia told Sam. Constance turned to Shia and hissed before an invisible force banged her head on the window, cracking it, also knocking her out.

"Take me home!" The ghost said yet again.

"No." Sam said. Constance glared and the doors locked themselves. Sam struggled to reopen them. The gas pedal pressed down and the car began to drive itself. Sam tried to steer, but Constance was doing that too. Sam continued to try to get the door open. In the back seat, Constance flickered.

~•~

Shia woke up with her head pounding, "What the fuck?" She said when she realized the impala was inside of Constance's house.

"Sam! Shia! Sam! You two okay?" Dean said, running in.

"I think..." Sam said, looking around, noticing Shia up and moving. "Help Shia. I can move on my own."

Dean nodded, he reached through the back window so he could help Shia crawl out. "I got you."

"Dean. Sam." Shia said, getting the boys attention, she nodded towards Constance picking up a large framed picture of her and her children.

Constance looked over and the trio, she glared at them and threw the picture down. Dean saw what was coming next so he pushed Shia out the way as a bureau scooted towards Sam and Dean, pinning them against the car. The lights flickered; Constance looked around, scared. Water began to pour down the staircase. She went over.

The children from the picture flickered to where they were downstairs. They held hands and spoke in chorus.

"You've come home to us, Mommy." Constance looked at them, distraught. Suddenly they were behind her; they embraced her tightly and she screamed, her image flickering. In a surge of energy, still screaming, Constance and the two children melted into a puddle in the floor. Sam and Dean shoved the bureau over and go look at the spot where Constance and her children vanished. Shia limping behind them.

"So this is where she drowned her kids." Dean said. Sam nodded in response.

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them." Shia said from behind the boys. Dean turned around and placed his hand under her chin, giving her face a look over to see if she was hurt.

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean slapped Sam on the chest where he's been injured and walked away. Sam laughed through the pain.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey. Saved your ass." Dean said with Shia by his side. Dean leaned over to look at the car. "I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car?" Dean twisted around to look at Sam. "I'll kill you."

Sam laughed while Shia shook her head at the boys banter.

Dean looked at Shia, his grin falling, he noticed blood trailing down her neck. "Babe, turn around." Shia did what she was told. Dean lifted her long, dark hair to find an open wound on the bottom of her head. "Shit."

"I feel fine." Shia said, she wasn't lying but she knew that to blood would clear up soon. She's a demigod, she heals five times faster than the average person.

"Sam will stitch you up, okay?" Dean told his girlfriend. Sam grabbed a kit from the truck and got in the back with Shia.

"Let's get the hell out of this Town."

~October 31, 2005 (approximately 3:41 a.m. - Monday morning)~

Sam was now in the passenger seat, Dean was speeding on an empty road. Shia laid down in the backseat, she worried for John. She thought it was odd for him to ignore or not get in contact with Dean. 'What's really going on?' Shia thought before getting up and looking between the Winchester brothers. She looked at the empty space between them and smiled.

"Moving in, boys." Shia said as she dived into the front seat. Her legs coming down on Sam.

"Really, Shia?" Sam asked as he saved the map he was holding from getting by the movement that was happening with Shia's legs.

"Whoops. Sorry." Shia said when her head was in Dean's lap.

"Babe, I'm driving." Dean said as Shia still struggled to get comfortable. Shia was now in the middle of the brothers, she turned to her boyfriend.

"You never complained about my head being on your "lap" the other times."

Sam felt sick to his stomach. "Oh come on, gross." Dean looked at Shia and grinned. Making Sam feel uncomfortable was his specialty, so he liked it when Shia teased him as well.

"Okay, so, here's where dad went." Sam said, "it's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Colorado? What the hell?" Shia asked, her voice was full of confusion. Dean nodded at the location.

"Sounds charming. How far?" Dean asked Sam.

"About 600 miles."

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning." Dean said with a grin. Shia gave her boyfriend a small smile but she knew that Sam wasn't going to go for it, she could tell by the look on his face.

"Dean. I...uh..."

Dean looked to his brother then back at the road. "You're not going..." Shia sighed after hearing the disappointment in Dean's voice.

"The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there."

Sam reminded Dean.

Dean nodded, disappointed, and returned his attention to the road. Shia placed her hand on Dean's thigh, giving him a squeeze.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." Dean mumbled, he glanced at Sam. "I'll take you home."

Sam turned the flashlight off. They drove in silence.

~•~

They pulled up in front of the apartment, Dean was still frowning. Sam gave Shia a tight side hug before getting out, he leaned over to look through the window.

"Call me if you find him?" Sam asked his older brother. Dean nodded.

"And maybe I can meet up with you two later, huh?"

"Yeah, all right." Dean said.

"I love you, Sam. Good luck on that interview. I'm proud of you." Shia said to the youngest Winchester. Sam gave her a nod and smiled.

Sam patted the car door twice and turned away. Dean leaned toward the passenger door, one arm going over the back of the seat.

"Sam?" Sam turned around.

"You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah."

Shia scouted closer to Dean, he wrapped an arm around her before driving off. Sam watched them go and sighed.

~•~

"I know you miss him already." Shia said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I do, but he has a new life. I get that."

"Doesn't mean you like it." Shia glanced at Dean. "Are you happy for him?"

Dean nodded, "sure I am. I just want to make sure he's safe. My job to make sure he's safe."

Shia placed a kiss on his cheek, "I know babe."

Suddenly, Shia sucked in her breath. She saw flashes of Sam in a fire through her eyes. "Dean! Turn around. Sam's in trouble."

Dean didn't question his girlfriend, she looked disturbed. But he felt like something wasn't right in the pit of his stomach, so he quickly turned around.

~•~

Dean sloppily parked the impala. Shia was following behind her. Dean turned to her. "Babe, call for help. I'll go get Sam."

Shia nodded as she watched Dean run towards Sam's apartment. She pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

It's been moment after the fire, Jessica didn't make it out from the looks of it. Shia stared at Sam, afraid to ask if he was okay. She felt that it would be a stupid question at the moment.

"Hey. You okay?" Dean asked after walking over from the crowd of people the fire brought in.

"I'm fine." Sam tossed his shotgun in the trunk. "Come on. We got work to do."

Shia looked at Sam before opening the impala. Sam's face was masked with anger, grief, and desperation. She felt terrible for him. Without saying another word, the trio got into the impala and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3: Wendigo (1x02)

"I'm halfway gone, sleepless I'm battle-worn

You're all I want, so bring me the dawn

I need the sun to break, you've woken up my heart

I'm shaking, all my luck could change

Been in the dark for weeks and I've realized you're all I need

And I hope that I'm not too late,

I hope I'm not too late." — James Bay, Need The Sun To Break.

~November 7, 2005 (approximately 7:12 a.m.) One week after the death of Jessica Moore~

"I'm going to grab some coffee for us. You guys keep looking through the newspapers." Sam said before grabbing his jacket and walking through the motel door.

As soon as Sam walked out the door, Shia sighed. She glared at Dean. "I thought you were going to tell him that looking around for the thing that killed Jessica is pointless, and we should look for John! John will have answers."

"The kid just lost his girlfriend!" Dean exclaimed. "The guy barely eats, sleeps...hell, he doesn't even talk."

Shia sighed and looked back down at the papers. "I know. It's scaring me."

"Sam will get better." Dean told Shia, allowing his fingers to trace the skin on her knuckles. "I'll talk to him tonight. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Just give me a day to talk to him."

Dean and Shia watched each other for a moment. Shia smirked. "Another thing...he's cramping our style."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean usually we would seal the deal right about now but..." Shia said giving Dean a suggestive look.

"Seal the deal?"

"Sex! We are usually having sex right now. I haven't gotten laid in about week."

Dean smirked. "Look at you..."

Shia rolled her eyes. "Shut your face, Dean." Dean chuckled before going back to reading for any signs of the thing that killed Jessica.

~November 10, 2005 (approximately 10:24 a.m.) ON THE WAY TO BLACKWATER RIDGE, COLORADO~

Sam jerked around in his sleep. Shia looked up from her magazine "The Worm Man Is Real." Shia looked at Sam with sympathy, she really felt for him. He was her little Sammy. Her little guy, even though he's not so little anymore.

"Dean, he's doing that jerking and shouting again." Shia stated as she leaned up to rest her arms on the front seat, since she was in the back. "Should we wake him?"

"He doesn't get to sleep...ever. He'll thank me later." Dean said, eyes flickering from the road to Sam then to his girlfriend, Shia. "Babe, don't worry too much. Okay?"

"I know...it's just...he's my baby." Shia said as she started to play with Sam's hair, which seemed to calm him down for a moment. Dean rolled his eyes.

"He's not twelve anymore."

"He's still my baby."

~•~

Sam jerked awake, trying to catch his breath. He looked over to see his brother and Shia looking at him with worry obvious in their eyes.

"You okay?" Shia asked before resting a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied. Shia nodded, knowing all too well that he really wasn't fine.

"Another nightmare?" Dean asked. In answer, Sam simply cleared his throat.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean asked, causing Sam to laugh and Shia giving him a confused look. "In your whole life you never asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to, never mind," Dean said, going back to driving.

"Can I drive for a while, Dean? It would make me feel better." Shia asked leaning forward in the front seat, giving Dean a kiss on the cheek.

"Sure." Dean said with a tight smile. Shia raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Hell no. You've been trying to hurt my baby since day one. You will not be driving her, that's for damn sure." Dean said now foucusing on the road ahead of him. Dean heard Shia mumble "dick", but he didn't say anything..he just smiled at her.

"Look guys, you're worried about me, I get it and thank you but I'm perfectly fine." Sam said looking out the window.

"Mmhmm," Shia said, still not believing him.

"Alright, where are we?" Sam asked, bringing about the topic of business.

Shia started to look around, because she didn't know where they were at either. She spent the whole time reading her "freak week" magazines.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean answered.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," Sam said, looking over the map again.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing," Dean said. "If you want to find the thing that killed Jessica..."

"We gotta find dad first," Sam finished for him.

"John's disappearing, and this thing showing up after twenty years, it's no coincidence. John will have answers; he'll know what to do." Shia said leaning forward in her seat again.

"It's weird man. These coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge." Sam said as he looked over the map again.

"What about it?" Dean asked.

"There's nothing there, it's just woods," Sam said, producing the map again to prove his point. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

"Hmm. Maybe he's sending us to go hunt Worm Man or something. I mean it is logical to think why he's sending us out there." Shia said looking at both brothers, Dean stared at her with amusement. Sam looked at her like she had three heads.

"Worm man?" Sam asked. Shia grabbed her magazine and threw it at him.

"How do you explain that, college boy?" Shia folded her arms.

Sam read the first sentence and immediately knew it was fake but he decided to play along. "Oh yeah, this is very real."

Shia glared at the younger Winchester. "I can hear the sarcasm, Sam." Dean and Sam chuckled. "I'm not talking to either of you."

"Well, I can tell you we're not hunting Worm man." Dean said as he shook his head.

"Then what could it be Dean?" Sam asked. "Obviously he's real." Dean just shrugged and continued driving.

"I hate you both." Shia mumbled before grabbing her fashion magazine instead of freak week.

The best way to find out what's going on is to investigate.

~•~

Seeking to investigate, the trio arrive at the Lost Creek Visitors Centre.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote," Shia began recite to the other two, to which only Sam is listening while Dean is transfixed by the picture on the walls. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

"Dude check out the size of this freakin' bear," Dean said, motioning to the picture in front of him. Sam and Shia join him by the picture.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Shia finished. "It's no nature hike for sure. Dean, were you even listening to me just then?"

Dean looked at her and decided to lie about listening to her.

"Of course I was listening to you." Dean grinned as he pressed his lips against Shia's lips. Dean pulled away and smiled. "I always listen."

Sam gave his brother a "yeah right" look. He was sure that Dean wouldn't be able to repeat anything that Shia just said.

"You guys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" A voice said from behind them. The three turned to what must be the park ranger staring at the trio.

"Oh no sir," Sam said. "We're environment study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper."

"We would like to get the opportunity to go out there one of these days but not this week," Shia said giving the man a smile.

"Recycle, man," Dean pitched in, must to Sam and Shia's dislike. Shia knew the man could see right through Dean's bullshit.

"Bull," the ranger said, and all three suddenly looked worried. "You're friends with that Hailey girl right?"

"Oh, yes we are, me and Hay Hay been best friends since Pre-K," Shia said, taking this opportunity to get some information out of him. "Ranger..." She looked at the name tag. "Wilkinson."

"Well I will tell you exactly what we told her," Ranger Wilkinson began.

"Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater till the 24th, so it's not exactly a missing persons now is it?" Dean shook his head in answer. "You tell that girl to keep worrying, I'm sure her brothers just fine."

"We will" Dean said wrapping his arm around Shia's waist and pulling her into him as the ranger began to walk away. "Well that Hailey girl's quite the pistol, huh?"

"That's putting it mildly," Ranger Wilkinson said, turning back to them.

"Actually you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit," Dean suggested. "You know so she could see her brothers return date."

Having got a copy of the permit from Ranger Wilkinson, Sam, Dean, and Shia walked out of the building, Dean laughing smugly.

"What are you cruising for a hook up or something? Sam said, a little annoyed at Dean's excitement to go interview someone.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, giving Sam a look. He wanted his brother to know that he should never accuse him of wanting to hook up, at least not in front of Shia.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge so what are we waiting for, let's just go find dad. I mean why even talk to this girl?"

"I dunno maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it," Dean answered. He and Shia stared at Sam, not fully understanding what they were hearing came from him.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Since when are you all shoot first ask questions later, anyway?"

Sam pulled a hard look. "Since now."

"Oh, really?" Dean said as he and Shia followed him into the car.

~November 10, 2005 (approximately 5:57 p.m.) HOUSE OF HAILEY COLLINS~

With the permit and Sam's disapproval, the three went to Hailey's house. Dean knocked, and a girl who had to be Hailey opened the door. She had milky skin and dark brown hair.

"You must be Hailey Collins," Dean said in greeting. "I'm Dean, this is Sam and Shia. We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over, we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy."

"Let me see some ID," Hailey said. Dean held us his fake ID, smiling widely. Hailey was staring right at the name 'Samuel Cole' so she assumed that he went by his middle name, she let them in.

"Come on in," Hailey said, happy with the ID and opening the screen door. Shia noticed as Dean walked by Hailey checked him out.

"Thanks," Dean said as he, Sam and Shia made to step into the house. From over his shoulder, Hailey noticed Dean's car.

"That yours?" she asked looking at the Impala.

"Yeah," Dean answered proudly.

"Nice car," she replied before heading into the house, Sam, Dean, and Shia following. Shia rolled her eyes at Hailey's interest in Dean.

~•~

Inside the house, Sam, Dean, and Shia stood around nervously, bombarding Hailey with questions while she brought food bowls from the kitchen to her brother, Ben, who was sat at the dining room table.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong? Shia asked.

"He checks in every day by cell reception," Hailey answered. "He sends something everyday, but we haven't heard from him in three days now. Would that worry you a little?"

"Well maybe he can't get reception," Sam suggested.

"He's got a satellite phone too," was Hailey's answer to that.

"Could it be he's just having and forgot to check in," Dean said.

"He wouldn't do that," Ben said suddenly, a little annoyed. Shia looked at him with a raised eyebrow, it was the first time she heard him talk since she's been near him.

"Our parents are gone, so it's us," Hailey told the three. "We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

"Can I see those pictures he sent you? If you don't mind." Shia asked.

"Yeah," Hailey said. She got out her lap top and opened up the pictures and video's Tommy had sent them while Sam, Dean and Shia looked over her shoulder.

"That's Tommy," she said, motioning to a still from the last recording she sent them. She hits the play button and the recording springs to life. They watched the video. Watching the video, Shia frowned slightly as something she had seen in the background. Something she didn't think was meant to be there. Sam saw it too.

"Well, we'll find your brother" Dean said once the video had stopped. "We're headin' out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."

"Then maybe I'll see you there," Hailey said as she walked across the room. Sam, Dean and Shia glanced at each other before looking up at Hailey, giving her a look that said they didn't think that was a good idea.

Shia pulled Sam to the side to let Dean and Hailey talk.

"Sam, I saw something in that video and I know you did too. You should ask her if she can send that video to us." Shia said, and Sam just nodded.

~November 10, 2005 (approximately 7:34 p.m.) LOCAL BAR~

As per usual, the trio had found the local bar and had gone there to go over thier findings. Shia sat between the two brothers, pulling newspaper articles out to show what they had found so far.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic," Shia began. "Local campers mostly. But still, this past April two hikers went missing out there, they were never found."

"Any before that?" Dean asked wrapping his arm around Shia's waist.

"Oh, you know it, Every twenty three years, just like clockwork." Shia said. While she had been talking, Shia had pulled out her laptop, pulling up Tommy's video.

"Okay watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy, Tommy's, video to the laptop. Check this out."

She played the video slowly, frame by frame to show them what she had noticed back at Hailey's.

A shadow of something in the back of the tent, moving extremely fast. She replay it so the could get a good look.

Hearing this and seeing this the video, Dean reached behind Shia's back and hit Sam on the arm, leaving his arm slung across the seat and round Shia.

"Told ya something weird was goin' on," he said.

"I got one more thing," Shia said, "In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."

"Is there a name?" Dean asked. In answer, Shia smiled.

~November 10, 2005 (approximately 8:10 p.m.) HOUSE OF MR. SHAW~

An elderly man, Mr. Shaw, talked to Sam and Dean while leading them inside his house. Shaw had a cigarette in his mouth.

"Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this. It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a—"

Sam interrupted the man.

"Grizzly? That's what attacked them?"

Shaw took a puff of his cigarette then he nodded.

"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asked. There was a pause in the room. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?"

"We knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." Shia told the older man, her approach was gentle. Her eyes sparkled with care, it let the man know that she was genuine and she wanted to help.

"I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." Shaw said as he sat down. He looked at Shia then looked down. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did." Shia sat down across from Shaw.

"Forget that these guys are here," Shia said pointing to Sam and Dean. "Look at me. Mr. Shaw, what did you see?" He was hesitant to say anything.

"Nothing. It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like...no man or animal I ever heard."

"It came at night?" Shia asked.

Shaw nodded.

"Got inside your tent?" Sam asked from his spot beside Dean.

"It got inside our cabin. I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?" Shia asked.

"Dragged them off into the night." Shaw shook his head. "Why it left me alive...been asking myself that ever since." He moved his hands to his collar. "Did leave me this, though." Shaw opened his collar to reveal three long scars. Claw marks. Sam, Shia and Dean looked at them.

"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon." Mr. Shaw told the trio. Shia nodded and thanked him for his time.

~•~

After going to Mr. Shaw's house the trio was now trying to find out what to do with their new information.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside they just go through the walls," Dean said.

"So it's probably something else, something corporeal," Sam offered up.

"Corporeal? Excuse me professor," Dean quipped.

"Shut up," Shia said, defending Sam, smacking Dean's arm lightly. Dean pretended to be hurt and pulled her in a hug and kissed her hard on the lips. Sam cleared his throat. Shia gave the younger Winchester an apologetic smile.

"So what do you think?" Sam asked.

"The claws, the speed that it moves, could be skin walker, maybe a black dog," Dean suggested. "Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature and it's corporeal. Which means we can kill it," he finished, leaving the apartment.

Dean stood outside beside his car, loading up with whatever he thought they might need for this hunt, Shia beside him.

"We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there," Sam said as he stopped beside them.

"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? Dean said. "That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?"

"Yeah," Sam said simply.

Dean and Shia glanced at each other, sharing a look.

"Her brother's missing Sam," Dean said. "She's not just gonna sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator-friend."

"Finding dad's not enough?" Sam said as Dean and Shia stood away from the car, leaving Sam to slam the trunk shut. "Now we gotta babysit too?"

Hearing the edge of a true hunter in his voice, something Sam had never cared to be, Dean and Shia stared at him.

"What?" Sam asked as he watched them both staring. They just shrugged, looking away.

"Nothin'," they both answered, Dean chucking the duffel bag roughly towards Sam as he and Shia turned and walked away to go to their room. Sam scoffed, watching them go to their room, he turned to enter his.

~•~

"I've said it once, I'll say it again." Shia said as she slipped on her see through night gown, "I'm worried about Sam."

Dean took off his shirt. "Yeah, I know you are."

Shia turned around to face her boyfriend. Shia crossed her arms and sighed. "But I think he's right."

Dean gave the woman in front of him a look. "Are you serious? Or are you jealous of Hailey?"

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Shia asked, her eyes focused on Dean. She moved closer to him. Dean wasn't going to lie...he was a tad bit intimidated.

"I'm just stating facts." Dean said with his hands up. "You gave the girl snakes eyes when she checked me out."

"That doesn't mean I'm jealous." Shia said, defending her actions. "The girl is going to get herself killed! We don't really know what we're dealing with anyway."

"Well it sure as hell ain't Worm man." Dean said, taunting her. Shia scoffed, turning away from him and getting into her side of the bed. Dean watched how she turned off her lamp. "Babe?"

Shia said nothing, not responding to him one bit. Dean knew he hurt her feelings and he wanted to fix that before she goes to bed.

Dean made his way into the bed, his big hand resting on her curvaceous waist. He kissed her shoulder before pulling her close to him. Shia knew this affection he was showing was his way of saying sorry.

"Babe, I like it when you're territorial over me." Dean whispered in her ear as he moved her hair off her neck, placing soft, wet kisses on the spots where her hair use to be. "It's hot."

Shia couldn't help but moan, Dean knew where her spots were hidden. He had sex with her more times than he could count.

Dean's finger traced the skin that was under her night gown. He cupped her breast while sucking her on the skin below ear, her favorite spot.

"Dean." Shia moaned from her lips. Dean had a cocky grin on his face.

"Love it when you say my name." Dean told her as he kissed down her arm. He led himself between her legs, spreading them.

Dean kissed down her thighs, his right arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her close to him. Dean undressed her from her tight shorts, revealing her wet core. "Someone's a little eager."

"Always."

Dean flicked his tongue on her clit, softly blowing wind to her heated slit. Dean loved to tease her, he loved making her squirm. Dean intertwined his fingers with her as he continued to pleasuring her with his mouth.

After several intense minutes later, Shia met her climax, leaving scratches on Dean's arm. Dean pulled her close to him, she laid beside him. She traced circles around his chest areas.

"Go to sleep, babe." Dean whispered.

Shia looked at him. "But what about you?" She asked referring to pleasing him. Dean shook his head and kissed her forehead.

"Tonight was all about you."

Shia laid in his chest, minutes later, she was asleep.

~November 11, 2005 (approximately 3:21 p.m.) "HIKING TRIP"~

The trio arrived by the woods, they all got out of the car walking towards Hailey, Ben, and some guy named Roy.

"Got room for three more?" Dean said as the three stepped out of the car.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Hailey asked Dean.

"Who are these guys and lovely young woman?" Roy asked Hailey but he looked at Shia and winked.

Roy winking at Shia, which did not rub Dean the right way. Shia looked at Dean and saw that his jaw clenched.

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for search and rescue," Hailey answered.

"You're rangers?" Roy asked the three who had just arrived.

"That's right," Dean answered with a proud smile.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Hailey said, looking down at what Dean was wearing. Dean followed her gaze then looked back up at her with a smile on his face.

"Well sweetheart, I don't do shorts," Dean said as he walked past them. Shia heard what he said and snickered.

"What you think this is funny?" Roy said as Sam and Shia strode past him and Dean stopped at his side.

"It's dangerous backcountry out there, her brother might be hurt."

"Trust us, Roy, we now how dangerous it can get." Shia winked at Roy, she turned to look at Dean. He was clearly jealous.

"What?" Shia asked.

"You trying to make me jealous?" Dean asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"Now, why would I do that? You're the only one for me, babe." Shia said walking closely beside Dean.

~•~

They were in the woods and Hailey finally figured out they were not Rangers.

"You didn't pack supervisions," Hailey said as she stepped up to him. "You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers so, who the hell are you?"

She pulled Dean's arm back, bringing him to a stop. Before answering, he glanced over at Sam, who nodded as he walked away with Ben. Shia moved to follow them but Dean stopped her, grabbing hold of her arm.

"Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father," Dean said truthfully. "He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat."

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" Hailey asked.

"I'm telling you now. Besides it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. Ever." Dean said honestly.

"Trust me, he's not lying," Shia added in at his comment. Dean turned to Shia looking at her, for some reason something is bothering her and he wants to figure out what.

"Uh, Hailey, so we okay?" Dean said, turning back to Hailey. She nodded. "What do you mean I didn't pack provisions?" Dean finished, pulling out a bag of M&Ms as he and Shia walked away.

"What was that back there?" Dean asked.

"What was what?" Shia said avoiding eye contact.

"The whole 'Trust me, he's not lying,' thing?"

"I don't know, Dean..."

"You don't think I'm honest with you?"

"Sure," Shia said, to which Dean took hold of her arm and stopped them both. Dean and Shia had a stare down before she finally spoke up about her feelings. "Why didn't you introduce me as your girlfriend when you told her Sam was your brother, huh? What? You're ashamed of me now?"

"Hey. No, I will never be ashamed of you! I didn't think it bothered you so much. I'm sorry. Look, I'm still new to this relationship thing, and I have lied about some things..." Dean looked up at Shia properly and found her glaring at him, eyebrow raised. "I should probably shut up now, huh?" He added.

"Yeah, you really should," Shia said as she walked away. Dean watched her leave, following her moments after.

Roy led the way, followed by Sam, Ben, Hailey, Shia, and Dean.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." Roy announced. Sam headed past Roy.

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked. Roy pulled out a GPS, which read N 35o 45.383, W 111o 00.55.

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven."

Dean and Shia went up to Sam. They listened to the forest. They heard nothing but silence.

"You hear that?" Dean asked Sam and Shia.

"Yeah. Not even crickets." Sam answered.

"Strange for things to be so quiet." Shia said moving ahead of the boys a few feet.

"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy said, cocking his gun.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam told him, in a way vaguely warning him that it's not safe.

"That's sweet. Don't worry about me." Roy waved his gun and pushed between Dean and Sam to retake the lead. He bumped shoulders gently with Shia, causing her to give him a hard look.

"All this open space and you bump into me," Shia said to him. Roy looked at her up and down, he scoffed.

"Not worth it." Roy mumbled, continuing to walk ahead.

Shia turned around to talk to Sam and Dean. "I swear to God that if whatever out here doesn't kill him, I will." Dean turned back to the others as Ben and Hailey catch up.

"All right, everybody stays together. Let's go." Dean told the siblings.

"Hey! Hailey! Over here!" Roy shouted out. Without thinking twice, Hailey ran towards his direction.

Shia let out an irritated sigh. "These people are gonna get us all killed."

They all arrived at the campsite to see all the tents torn up and covered with blood. Roy examined the tracks, "definitely a grizzly."

Hailey started looking around. "TOMMY! TOMMY!" Hailey shouted.

Shia looked at the girl like she was crazy. Even if it was a grizzly, which it is not, did this girl really think shouting in the middle of the woods was safe? Shia looked at Sam and Dean. "One of you shut her up!" Shia hissed at the brothers. Sam ran over to her.

"Shhhh." Sam said, placing one finger over his lips.

"Why?" Hailey asked, getting annoyed with Sam.

"Something might still be out there." Shia said, stepping in the short conversation. "Your noise will draw it right back to us. So, zip it."

"Sam! Shia!" Dean called out to them. He was found on his knee, looking at dirt. "Looked like the bodies were dragged." Dean pointed at an empty spot. "But here, they vanish. That's weird."

"Well, I can tell you boys that it's no skinwalker or black dog." Shia said with an eye roll. The brothers glanced at each other then back at Shia.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked the woman in front of him. Shia scoffed, looking at both brothers.

"I'm fine." Shia told them. "I started my period a few hours ago."

"Okay." Dean said, things were starting to get awkward. He was use to Shia being pissy because he's been around her for so long that he didn't realize that she started her period.

"After the case, I'll buy you some chocolate." Sam said, showing his best friend some sympathy. Shia's eyes sparkled.

"Thanks, Sam. No one has ever done that for me before." Shia told him before waking to check on Ben and Hailey. Dean gave his brother a glare.

"What?" Sam asked, innocently.

"Nothing." Dean mumbled before walking off.

"HELP! SOMEBODY!" An unfamiliar voice screamed into the wind. Everyone hauled ass over to the area where the screams were heard.

"Sounds like it was coming from over here." Hailey said looking around.

Once again, it was silent. Sam and Shia shared a look.

"Everyone back to the campsite." Sam said. No one moved fast enough for Shia.

"Now!" She yelled in her authoritative voice. Shia doesn't mean to be harsh, she just wanted this to be over so she could relax and lay in bed while she cramped all day.

Back at the campsite, all the supplies were missing.

"Our packs!" Hailey exclaimed, shocked to see everything gone.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone." Roy said, shaking his head.

What the hell is going on?" Hailey asked Sam.

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help," was Sam's response to Hailey's question.

"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear." Roy said with a scoff.

Sam went to Dean and Shia. "I need to speak with you guys. In private." The trio headed a little ways away from the group.

"Good. Let me see Dad's journal."

Dean handed it over. Sam opened it and flipped through until he found a particular page. "All right, check that out." Sam pointed to a First Nations–style drawing of a figure.

Shia shook her head, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west." Dean said, trying to make himself think that they were not hunting a wendigo.

"Think about it, Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice." Sam said, making a solid point.

"Great." Dean mumbled before taking out his pistol. "Well then this is useless." Sam gave Dean back John's journal and headed past Dean, stopping for a moment.

"We gotta get these people to safety." Sam said. Shia and Dean nodded.

Dean looked at Shia. He was worried about her. He knew that she wasn't too fond of Wendigos. Mainly because her and Bobby hunted a Wendigo some years back, Bobby almost lost his life.

"You okay?" Dean asked Shia, placing his hand on her shoulder. Shia nodded.

"I'm fine." Shia told him before making her way over to the group.

~•~

Back at the campsite, Sam addressed the group, which resulted in a little drama between the trio and Roy. Hailey didn't want any problems, so she let the Winchesters and Shia do what they needed to do.

The group had built a campfire, and Dean and Shia drew something in the dirt around the campsite while Hailey poked at the fire.

"One more time, that's—" Hailey started.

"Anasazi symbols. It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them." Dean told Hailey for the fifth time. Shia scoffed.

"If she asks again, I'm going to shoot her." Shia said playfully, but Dean knew she was serious.

Roy laughed at the thought of the Anasazi sign, gun over his shoulder.

"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Dean told him gravely.

Shia looked over at Sam then back at Dean. Dean was already watching his baby brother sit alone. Shia nudged him. "You go talk to your brother. I'll watch the group."

Dean nodded before walking over to Sam. Shia sat beside Ben, who was staring at her.

"You know, taking a picture lasts longer." Shia told the young boy. She gave him a small smile. He nodded at her humor.

"It's just you look like someone."

Shia raised an eyebrow, "Ah, yeah, who?"

Ben pulled out his Greek Mythology book, "I chose Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, for my school project." He flipped through the page to find a photo of Athena's statue. "See, you kind of look like her."

"I'll be damned, maybe I do." Shia said, giving the boy a tight smile. "If only you knew, kid."

"Knew what?" Ben asked before closing his book.

Shia took a sip of the water she in her book bag, "Nothing. Just...stay in school, live a happy life."

Ben gave her a sad smile, "I can't do that without my brother, Tommy."

Shia nodded. "I know how you feel, man. Listen, we're going to find your brother. I promise." Shia smiled at the kid before getting up and walking over to the Winchester brothers.

"I'll tell you what else helps," Dean said. Sam lifted his gaze from the ground to his brother. "Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."

"Did I come at a bad time?" Shia said with one hand on her hip. Dean shook his head. Sam smiled at his brother and best friend.

Suddenly, a twig snapped.

"HELP!" The wendigo screamed in a human-like voice. Dean and Sam stood up from their position on their logs. "HELP ME PLEASE!"

Sam flashed his flashlight through the bushes.

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put." Dean told Hailey, Ben, and Roy.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy asked, cocking his gun.

"HELP ME! HELP! HELP!"

There was a sound of growling coming from the bushes. Roy pointed his gun at the sound.

"Okay, that's no grizzly."

"You don't say." Shia said sarcastically from her spot beside Dean.

Hailey was holding on to her brother, telling him that everything was going to be okay.

Something rushed past the bushes, Hailey shrieked in response. Roy shot something.

"I got it." Roy went to go see what he hit. Shia ran after him.

"Shia!" Dean shouted. He looked at Hailey and Ben. "Stay here!"

Sam and Dean ran after Shia and Roy.

Shia continued to follow Roy but he moved a lot quickly than she expected.

"It's over here! It's in the tree!"

"Roy, run!" Shia shouted at the him, she then witnessed the Wendigo reach up and snap Roy's neck. Shia stopped her movement. 'Don't fucking move a muscle.' She screamed at herself in her head. She felt breathing on her neck, the creature growling behind her.

She shut her eyes. Then, there wasn't anymore breathing. She opened her eyes, she was standing behind Ben and Hailey.

"You guys okay?" She asked. Hailey turned around.

"Where did you come from?"

"Out there, of course." Shia said matter of factly. She knew what happened. She orbed back to the campsite, without thinking about it.

~•~

"Shia!" Dean called out to her, his place in the woods. Sam still flashed his light around the area where he stood.

"Dean, we have to go." Sam told his brother. "Before the thing comes back! Come on! If he has her, we'll get her back."

~•~

There were rustling noises coming from outside of camp's circle. Shia stood in front of Hailey and Ben, waiting to take on anything that was going to try to attack them.

Dean and Sam came from out of the bushes, shocked to see Shia standing in front of them. Dean rushed to Shia, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Why the hell did you run off?" Dean asked once he pulled away from her. He placed his forehead against hers. "Don't ever fucking do that again."

"I'm sorry." Shia whispered. Dean placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Shia looked at Sam. "You okay?"

"Are you? How did you get back before us?" Sam asked. Shia shrugged.

"I kept running and didn't stop. Ended up making a full circle." Shia lied. She knew exactly what happened, she used her powers to escape the Wendigo. Powers that Dean and Sam did not know about yet.

There was a pause between the trio.

"Well, all that matters now is that you're safe." Dean said, stroking his girlfriend's cheek. Shia gave him a small smile.

"We should all try to rest." Shia announced to everyone. She pulled out a blanket from her book bag and threw it to Hailey. "That should keep you and Ben warm. Don't worry, We'll keep watch. We'll have a conversation about what's going on in the morning." The siblings nodded, finding a space by the fire to sleep.

Shia turned back to the Winchester brothers. "We should take turns. Sam, you go try to rest."

"But—"

"No buts, Sam. Go rest, now." Shia told Sam. Sam looked at Dean. Dean looked at Shia then back at Sam.

"Rest your feet, Sammy." Dean told his brother. Sam looked between Shia and Dean, he nodded his head and walked away.

Shia glanced down at her feet. "I'm sorry I scared you, Dean. I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, as long as you're safe." Dean told her, placing his large hand on her neck, brushing his thumb against her cheek.

~November 11, 2005 (approximately 11:43 a.m.) BLACKWATER RIDGE "Hiking Trip"~

"So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch." Sam told his brother and the group. Shia walked over with her backpack on her back.

"I'm in total agreement with Sam. Dean?" Shia asked, eyebrow raised.

Dean grinned at his girlfriend. "Well, hell, you know I'm in."

Sam showed the wendigo page of John's journal to Hailey and Ben.

"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'." Sam quoted from the journal.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter." Dean continued, already knowing the legend behind the Wendigo story.

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Hailey asked.

Dean picked a couple things up off the ground, toying with it. "Well, it's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party."

"Exactly." Shia said, giving Ben a smirk. "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality."

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry." Dean said.

"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Hailey asked, she crossed her arms.

"You're not gonna like it." Dean told her. Dean glanced at Sam and Shia, then back to Hailey.

"Tell me." The brown haired girl demanded in a gentle way.

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."

"And then how do we stop it?"

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically—" Dean held up the can of lighter fluid, the beer bottle, and the white cloth he'd picked up. "We gotta torch the sucker."

"Let's just get this done so we can all be home in time for reruns of Friends." Shia said as she walked forward pass the Anasazi signs. Hailey and the rest of the group watched her leave.

"She's so hot." Ben said dreamingly. Hailey raised an eyebrow at her brother. Dean might have gave the kid snake eyes, but because of his age, he didn't mind him admiring his girl. It was never going to happen between them.

~•~

Dean and Shia led the group while Sam and the others followed. Sam caught up with Dean and Shia.

"You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They were almost too easy to follow." Sam whispered to the two of them.

There was a growling hum that rustled through the trees. Dean, Sam, and Shia's eyes lurked around, trying to figure out which direction it was coming from.

Hailey was standing under a tree. Blood dripped on her shirt. She noticed and looked up, then leaped out of the way; Roy's corpse landed where she'd stood. Dean examined Roy as Sam went over to Hailey. Shia stood beside Ben, wrapping her shoulder around him, telling him "everything is going to be okay."

"You okay? You got it?" Sam asked Dean.

"His neck's broke."

Sam helped Hailey up before they heard more growling.

"Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" Dean rushed everyone. They all tried to outrun the Wendigo, which was almost impossible. Shia held on the Ben's hand but he fell because she ran a lot faster than him. Sam noticed the stumble, so he backtracked to help Shia and Ben, dividing the group by two.

Dean and Hailey stopped short: the wendigo was in front of them. Hailey screamed.

"Hailey?"

The group of three stopped running for a moment. Sam stopped running and picked up Dean's Molotov cocktail, the bottle broken.

"Dean!" Sam shouted out through the forest.

"Dean!" Shia shouted, equally as loud as Sam.

~•~

"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben asked Shia and Sam as they looked for any sign of Dean and Hailey.

"Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off." Sam told the boy.

Shia scoffed, "He knew how to get under someone's skin. Just this time he chose the wrong thing to challenge.

Ben found a trail of peanut M&Ms and picked one up.

"They went this way." Ben said, pointing ahead. Shia and Sam caught up to Ben, who handed over the M&M. Sam laughed.

"It's better than breadcrumbs."

"You can say that again, Sam." Shia said with a smile before following the trail.

The group of three followed the trail. They came to a mine entrance marked with a sign that said "WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL." Shia looked and Sam and Ben, shrugged before going inside. Ben and Sam followed closely behind her. Above the entrance was a larger sign that said "KEEP OUT NO ADMITTANCE."

"Can't say they don't warn you," Shia mumbled under her breath.

Sam shined the flashlight ahead of them. They heard growling, Sam shut off the light and pulled Ben against the wall, Shia following the action. The wendigo came towards them. Shia was ready to defend Ben and Sam, to whatever cost. She'd give her life. Sam covered Ben's mouth before he can scream. The wendigo took a different tunnel at the crossing.

Sam, Shia, and Ben kept going. The floorboards creaked causing all three of them to fall through the floor; they landed in a pile of bones. There was another pile nearby of skulls. Ben spotted them and leaped backwards.

"It's okay." Shia said, soothing his sudden fear of human remains. "You're okay." Shia attempted to get up but her foot was stuck in between two rocks covered with bones. "How does something that even happen?"

Sam helped Ben but then noticed Shia still laying there. "You okay?"

Shia shook her head, "You both just go, okay? I'll catch up."

"No, Shia, let me help."

"Sam, go! Find Dean. I'm right behind, I promise." Sam hesitated but he listened to his friend before grabbing Ben and moving forward.

Shia heard growling near. Shia sighed, struggling against the rocks. "Fuck, I'm not dying like this." Shia tried to pull her foot out, once again. "Screw being normal."

Shia's eyes turned into a slightly blazed blue, white-ish color. She held out her hand and said "rock." Once she said that, the rock that was blocking her foot orbed into her hand. Shia moved her foot, throwing the rock aside, her eyes going normal again.

She ran in the direction Sam and Ben went, only for the group to bump into her. "Well, nice to see you guys running around. Can we go now?"

There was more growling, only this time, closer. Dean looked at Sam then his girlfriend.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean asked Sam and Shia. They both nodded. Dean told Hailey and Ben to stay with his brother and girlfriend while he ran after the wendigo.

"Idiot." Shia mumbled before helping Hailey with Tommy. "Sam, we have to hurry, this guy is losing a lot of blood."

Sam and Shia ran down the trail, but only to be blocked by a dead end.

"Son of a bitch." Shia gasped, she gave Hailey her brother before turning to Sam. "It's getting closer, Sam."

Sam placed his arm in front of her, "stay behind me."

They were looking face to face with the wendigo. Dean emerged from the corner. "Hey!" Dean shot the flare but the wendigo moved quickly enough to dodge it.

"You missed?!" Shia shouted. Sam tried to shoot at it but his flare gun was stuck. Shia knew what she had to do. With her eyes going the slightly blazed blue, white-ish color, she stood in front of the wendigo. Forcing it back with the wind that she created with her powers, she flashed her hand at it, flicking it.

Suddenly, the Wendigo went up in flames. Leaving everyone stunned at what they just seen Shia do.

~•~

"You care of your sister and your brother." Shia told Ben while Sam talked to the cops.

Ben nodded before walking away, then he turned around to look at her. "Are you Athena?"

Shia smirked and shook her head, "No, I'm her daughter." Ben's eyes sparkled with amazement. "Finish your project and do well. Don't give my mom a bad name, okay?"

Ben nodded, "I'll make an A. I promise." Shia chuckled before ruffling his hair with her hand.

~•~

Dean looked at Hailey with a smug look, smirking lasciviously. Hailey snorted, smiling despite herself.

"Must you cheapen the moment."

Dean grinned. "Yeah."

Hailey shook her head, "I would make a pass at you but I think she'd kill me." Hailey said referring to Shia. Dean looked over at the girl he proudly called girlfriend.

"Yeah, she just might."

"I hope you find your day." Hailey told him before walking over to the ambulance. "Take care of yourself."

Sam and Shia walked over to Dean and the impala moments later.

"Man, I hate camping." Dean said, mostly to himself.

"Me too." Sam agreed.

"For once, I'll agree with you two." Shia said leaning against the car beside Dean.

"Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?" Dean asked his brother. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving." Sam said with a huge grin. Dean tossed Sam the keys, before walking over to the passenger seat. Shia smiling at the brothers before getting in the backseat of the impala.

~•~

They were on the road again. Sam was driving. Sam was looking back at Shia. He wanted to ask her so badly.

"I know you want to know, so I'll tell you. Okay? Both of you guys promise not to freak out. Please?" Shia said as she moved forward to see them better.

"How did you do it?" Sam asked still in a little shocked. Dean didn't want to pressure Shia with questions, he didn't jump her bones because he knew deep down in his soul that she wasn't evil.

"I'm a demi god."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ [A/N]

New and improved chapter! Love going back to edit! If I missed some grammar errors, I'm sorry. Eventually I'll go back and make everything crystal perfect!

Let me know what's your favorite part so far! See ya soon!


	4. Chapter 4: Dead In The Water (1x03)

"I need another story

Something to get off my chest

My life gets kinda boring

Need something that I can confess

Til' all my sleeves are stained red

From all the truth that I've said

Come by it honestly I swear

Thought you saw me wink, no

I've been on the brink, so

Tell me what you want to hear

Something that will light those ears

Sick of all the insincere

I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This time, don't need another perfect lie

Don't care if critics ever jump in line

I'm gonna give all my secrets away" — One Republic, Secrets.

~DEAD IN THE WATER (1x03)~

~November 11, 2005 (approximately 8:47 p.m.) ON THE ROAD, DRIVING AWAY FROM WENDIGO CASE~

"I'm a demi god," Shia told the boys. They just stared ahead not knowing what to say. Shia rolled her eyes, she was hoping for a bigger reaction. "Whoa, boys, don't get too excited you might pull something."

"Does Bobby know?" Sam asked, looking from the road to Shia. Dean did the same, not wanting to have too much of an input between the conversation going between his girlfriend and his brother.

"Yes. And he accepts it." Shia said, she sighed before speaking again, "Look, guys, I know this is a lot to take in. You have nothing to worried about. I only use my powers for good and emergencies only. Just don't look at me differently."

Dean grabbed her hand, and looked at her with sincerity. "We will have to take in the news, but we could never look at you differently."

Shia gave Dean a small smile, "Thank you, boys. I mean it."

They both nodded. Shia scooted over the the left window in the backseat, staring out to the scenic road with content.

Not wanting to bombard her with questions, the boys left her to chill out for a bit. Leaving the ride silent for at least another fifty miles.

~November 20, 2005 (approximately 11:23 a.m.) RESTAURANT~

A little outside of town, Sam, Dean and Shia were in a small diner, having just finished eating. Dean was sitting on a stool, going through the local newspapers, looking for their next gig, while Shia sat beside him, stabbing tiredly at her food. Watching their table, a pretty blonde waitress walked over to them.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked. Dean looked up, pen in mouth, and smiled. Shia rolled her eyes as Sam walks back over to them.

"Oh, honey, the only thing you can get him is the check," Shia told the waitress.

"Okay," she replied, walking away and still smiling at Dean. Once she was gone, Shia aggressively smacked Dean across the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Dean asked, massaging the back of his head. In answer, Shia simply glared at him, then shifted her gaze to the waitress.

"Her!" Dean exclaimed, shocked… well actually, not all that shocked at what Shia might be thinking. Still glaring at Dean, Shia folded her arms across her chest.

"I wasn't thinking for myself," Dean said with a cocky smile. "It was for Sam, he'd go for a girl like that.." He nodded towards Sam.

"Yeah, sure," Shia said, looking away from him.

"Oh come on! You know I don't think about anyone else but you," Dean said with a cocky grin before connecting his lips with hers.

"Hey, Sam, would you go for a girl like that? Because Dean thinks she's totally your style." Shia said as she motioned towards the waitress.

"What? No!" Sam said, finally getting wind of the conversation. Dean glanced at his brother, disappointed in his eyes.

"You know, Sam, you are allowed to have fun once in a while," Dean said, and he motioned over to the waitress as she walked into the kitchen. "That's fun." When Sam doesn't answer, he sighed and handed him the newspaper he had been circling.

"Here, take a look at this, I think I got one," he said, pointing at the picture of the girl he had circled. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water—Nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam questioned.

"They buried an empty coffin. For uh, a closure or whatever," Dean said, not really noticing Sam's tone. But Shia did, she shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them," Sam said, his voice getting at something more personal to them.

"Something you want to say to me?" Dean said, turning to his brother. Shia rolled her eyes sensing an argument coming.

"The trail for dad—It's getting colder every day," Sam said simply.

"Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something, anything." Sam said, raising his voice just tad so Dean could hear the edge that layered in it.

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude," Dean said, getting angry. Seeing what can only be described as one of their 'moments', Shia avoided looking at either of them, choosing to concentrate on the newspaper in front of her.

"You don't think we wanna find dad as much as you do?" Dean continued, inadvertently bringing Shia into the conversation.

"Don't bring me into it," Shia mumbled as she was looking over the newspaper again.

"Yeah, I know you do, it's just—" Sam began, cut off by Dean. After only one word, Shia could hear the emotion between both of them and chose this time to look up.

"We're the ones that have been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies."

Being her usual mediator, but for reason of her own, Shia placed a hand gently on Dean's shoulder, forcing him to pay attention to her. One look, and the conversation turned calm.

"We will find dad," Dean continued. "But until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?" As if in answer, Sam rolled his eyes. Before Dean could even think about saying anything else, the waitress walked past again, distracting Dean.

"All right, Lake Manitoc," Sam began. He and Shia looked up to see his attention elsewhere. Knowing exactly where his attention was, one thought came to Shia's mind. 'Not for him, I'm the only girl he has eyes for, yeah right!'

"Babe?!" Shia said, turning Dean's head to face her.

"Huh?" Dean said as his attention was drawn back to Shia.

"How far?" Shia finished, the edge in her voice telling him he had better keep his attention where it was, or fear getting hit in the head again.

~•~

Not that far away, was the answer Dean eventually gave. Driving into the small town, Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up to the Carlton's cabin. They knocked politely and waited until Will Carlton answered the door.

"Will Carlton?" Dean asked in greeting.

"Yeah that's right," Will answered.

"I'm Agent Ford," Dean continued, showing Will his badge then motioning towards Sam and Shia. "This is Agent Hamill and Agent Morgan. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service." Dean noticed Will Carlton's eyes on Shia, admiring the beauty he sees, Will simply gives her a smile. Shia, thinking nothing of his gaze, smiled at him back.

Asking the typical U.S. Wildlife Service questions, Sam, Dean and Shia walked with Will out to the lake. The four stopped at the edge of the water, while Bill Carlton sat alone on a bench at the end of the dock.

"She was about 100 yards out," Will told them. "That's where she got dragged down."

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub."

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked.

"No, that's what I'm telling you," Will answered.

"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Shia asked. "Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?"

"No. Again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked.

"No, never. Why? What do you think's out there?" Will asked finally.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do," Shia replied as her and Dean turned back to walk to the car.

"What about your father?" Sam asked, still stood where he was and looking out over the dock. "Can we talk to him?" At the mention of his father, Will turned to watch him, still sat on the bench, motionless.

"Look, if you don't mind, I mean… he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot," Will said.

"We understand," Sam said, turning and walking to the car with Dean and Shia.

"Wait, Agent Morgan," Will said to Shia as she turned around to look at him. "I'm going through a lot, and I'd love to talk to you...in case I start to remember anything. Can I have your number so I can keep in touch with you?" Will asking her that question took her by surprise.

"Uh, sure, I don't see why not," Shia said with a smile giving him her number.

"She has a boyfriend, that's why not!" Dean whispered to Sam. The younger Winchester gave Dean a look that told him that his girlfriend wasn't interested in Will.

Shia made her way over to the car, getting in, Dean gave her a look. "What?" Shia asked. Dean just turned around and started the car.

~•~

Next stop for the trio, the local police station. Still using their identities as U.S. Wildlife Service, Sam, Dean and Shia were now talking to the sheriff, Jake.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" Jake asked as he guided them towards his office.

"You sure it's accidental?" Sam said. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what?" Jake said, following the trio into his office and closing the door. "Here sit please," Jake said, and they did, sitting in front of the desk as Jake sat behind it.

"There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake," Jake continued. "There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster."

"Yeah…." Dean said with a laugh, turning to Sam and Shia. "Right."

"Will Carlton was traumatized," Jake said. "And sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird though," Shia began, leaning forward slightly. "I mean that's… that's the third missing body this year."

"I know," Jake said, his voice full of emotion. "These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

"I know," Shia said sympathetically.

"Anyway," Jake went on, sighing and leaning back into his chair. "All this—It won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, forgetting about their fake personas.

"Well the dam, of course," Jake said, eyeing the three suspiciously now.

"Of course… the dam," Dean said. "It's uh… sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart," Shia corrected. "And the feds won't give them the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months there won't be much of a lake." Jake just simply nodded at Shia.

Sam and Dean looked at her. 'How the hell did she know that?' Dean thought.

"Right," Dean said, smiling nervously. Before Jake could question him about his lack of knowledge on the subject, there was a light tapping on the door and the room turned to see a young girl stood in the doorway.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" she said quietly. "I can come back later."

"Gentlemen and young lady, this is my daughter," Jake said, standing up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean," Dean said, extending a hand which she took.

"Andrea Bar," the girl introduced herself. "Hi."

"Hi," Dean replied, letting go of her hand.

"They're from the Wildlife Service about the lake," Jake said, and Sam, Dean and Shia could sense something in what they were saying. Like there was something that wasn't being said. Andrea's remark helped the theory along.

"Oh," she said, clearly keen to avoid the subject. And the opportunity came as a small boy walked in from behind Andrea.

"Oh hey there," Dean said as he walked in. "What's your name?"

Without saying a word, the boy walked away, followed quickly by Andrea.

"His name is Lucas," Jake told them as they continued to watch Andrea and Lucas. One look at the two of them and it was very clear they were mother and son.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked as the three turned back to Jake.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." Trying to change and avoid the subject, Jake motioned Sam, Dean and Shia out of his office. "Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

"Thanks," Dean said, stopping beside Andrea and Lucas. "You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced hotel."

"Lakefront motel," Andrea told them. "Go around the corner, it's about two blocks south."

"Two—Would you mind showing us?" Dean said. Andrea laughed slightly, and Sam rolled his eyes. Shia, on the other hand, chose not to stay and walked out of the police station before the others. Why would she want to be around him while he flirts with other women?

"You want me to walk you two blocks?" Andrea asked.

"Not if it's any trouble," Dean said pointedly.

"I'm headed that way anyway," she said, turning to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She then turned to the boy in question.

"We'll go to the park, okay sweetie?" she said, kissing the top of his head and leading Sam and Dean out of the police station. Dean waved as he walked out and Jake nodded their way.

"Thanks again," Sam said as he followed Dean and Andrea out.

Outside, Shia had joined back up with Sam and Dean, and the three were following Andrea down the road.

"So… cute kid," Dean said, attempting a conversation starter.

"Thanks," Andrea simply said.

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean continued. While Shia rolled her eyes, Andrea just ignored his comment, stopping outside the Lakefront Motel.

"There it is. Like I said. Two blocks," Andrea pointed out.

"Thanks," Sam said.

"Must be hard with your sense of direction," Andrea said to Dean. "Never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line." At her words, Shia let out a small burst of laugh and tried to hide it with a quick cough.

"Enjoy your stay!" Andrea called back to them as she walked away. Once she was out of earshot, Shia turned back to Dean.

"'Kids are the best'?" she said, repeating his phrase. "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids," Dean said defensively.

"Yeah? Name three children that you even know," Sam said, continuing Shia's argument. Lifting his hand in order to count of the numbers, Dean began to think. And no names came to mind. Knowing they would be there all day if they waited for Dean to think of his answer, Shia waved her hand in a 'forget it' manner and walked towards the motel, followed by Sam.

"I'm thinking!" Dean said, following them and scratching his head in thought.

~•~

Inside there room in the Lakeside Motel, two blocks from the police station, Shia sat at the table with her laptop out.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year," Shia told the boys.

"Any before that?" Sam asked.

"Uh yeah…" Shia said, pulling up more sites. "Six more spread out over the past 35 years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."

"So what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean suggested.

"This whole lake monster thing—It, It just bugs me," Shia said.

"Why?" Dean asked, him and Sam moving closer behind Shia.

"Loch Ness, uh Lake Champlain—There are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it."

Noticing something on one of the accounts Shia had up, Dean pointed it out to her and Sam.

"Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Bar, the victim in May," Shia began, reading the page. She opened up the link to bring up more information and a picture. One of Lucas, soaking wet with a towel wrapped round him and a officer by his side.

"Oh… Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband. Lucas' father," Shia continued. "Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned, two hours before the kid got rescued."

"Maybe we have an eyewitness after all," Sam said, looking down at the article.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

At his words, Shia turned in her seat and looked up at Dean. In those few words, and from the look in his eyes, she could guess at what was running though his kind. She just wished she knew for sure. She wished that, just once in a while, Dean would think about opening up to her. But then again, Dean wasn't that sort of guy. Never had been, never will be. No matter how hard she tried, just to get him to talk to her. Tell her what was going on in that mind of his.

Sometimes she realised, even when they were so different, Sam and Dean were so alike. Neither would open up, say what they were going through. It was the way they were brought up. To be brave. But neither of them knew, the bravest thing you could do, was ask for help when you needed it.

~•~

Looking for their one and only lead in this case, Sam, Dean and Shia found Andrea and Lucas in the park. Andrea was sitting on the outskirts on a bench, watching Lucas play.

"Can we join you?" Sam said as they stepped up to her.

"I'm here with my son," Andrea said, looking briefly up at them.

"Oh…. Mind if we say hi?" Dean said, walking towards Lucas and practically dragging Shia along with him. Watching them leave, Andrea laughed slightly and turned to Sam as he sat next to her.

"Tell your friend those whole 'Jerry Maguire' thing's not gonna work on me," she told him.

"I don't think that's what this is about," Sam said honestly.

"Does she have kids?" Andrea asked, focusing her gaze on the woman with long black hair.

"Who? Shia? No. She doesn't have kids, she's good with them though," Sam said looking out to see Shia and Dean talking to Lucas, he took a mental note in asking if she wanted kids one day.

While Sam and Andrea sat talking, Dean and Shia walked over to Lucas, who was sat leaning against a bench and coloring, with toy soldiers set up beside him.

"How's it goin?" Dean said as he and Shia stopped at the bench beside Lucas. They both knelt down so they were sat in front of Lucas. Trying to make conversation, Dean picked up one of the toy soldiers.

"Oh I used to love these things," he said. And acting like the big kid he was, he started making gun noises and explosions, throwing one of the soldiers down like it had been shot. Begging him to stop, Shia gave him a look and Dean took the hint.

"So crayons is more your thing?" he continued. "That's cool. Chicks dig artists. You drawing like this will get you girls in middle school. Trust me." Shia scoffed softly at his comment and began looking through the pile of pictures Lucas had drawn. Normal drawings for a kid. Houses, bicycles, huge black swirls.

"Hey, these are pretty good," Shia said, dropping the pictures.

"You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while?" Dean said, picking up a crayon. "I'm not so bad myself."

Dean sat on the table beside Lucas, picking up a pad of paper. Shia also moved, leaning against Dean's knee as he drew.

"You know, I'm thinking you can hear me; you just don't want to talk," Dean began. "I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad. I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something."

Seeing the emotion in his eyes again, Shia hugged Dean's knee, letting him know that she was there for him. He didn't wanna talk about it, and pulling it out of him wouldn't help.

"Anyway…" Dean said, swallowing slightly as he continued. "Well maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or uh… or believe you. I want you to know that I will. You don't even have to say anything, you could draw me a picture about what you saw that day with your dad on the lake."

Lucas didn't do or say anything. He just continued to draw.

"Okay, no problem," Dean said. "This is for you," he finished, handing the picture to Lucas.

"This is my family," he said, pointing out the different people. "That's my dad." At the next person, Dean paused slightly before skipping quickly over the name. "That's my mom. That's my geek brother, and that's me and this is my beautiful girlfriend." At her mention, Dean ran his fingers roughly through Shia's hair. She smiled, both of them looking at Lucas and waiting for a reaction that didn't come.

"All right, so I'm a sucky artist," Dean said finally, dropping the pad.

"See you around, Lucas," Shia said as both of them stood up and left.

Once Dean and Shia had left his sightline, Lucas picked up Dean's drawing, staring down at it.

~•~

Walking back over to Sam and Andrea, Dean and Shia joined in with the conversation that was already in full flow.

"Lucas hasn't said a word," Andrea was saying to Sam. "Not even to me—Not since his dad's accident."

"Yeah we heard. Sorry," Dean said as he and Shia stopped beside them.

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress," Andrea told them.

"That can't be easy, for either of you," Shis said sympathetically.

"We moved in with my dad," Andrea said. "He helps out a lot. It's just… when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…."

"Kids are strong," Dean added, trying to be supportive. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with."

"You know, he used to have such life," Andrea said with a smile on her face at the memories. "He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish…." Andrea paused as Lucas walked up to them.

"Hey sweetie," Andrea said as he stopped beside Dean. Without a word, he held a picture out to Dean. The picture was of what looked like a cabin or hut.

"Thanks… Thanks Lucas," Dean said as Lucas walked back to his table, Andrea watching him curiously.

~•~

That night, Shia laid in bed with her boyfriend beside her, his back to her. She knew he was thinking about his mother a lot more than usually, she wanted to help but pushing him into a conversation will not work.

Then she looked over to Sam in his bed, he jerked in his sleep every two minutes. He was dreaming about Jessica, Shia assumed. The demi god sighed. She wanted the boys to talk to her, that's why she's there. She wanted them to share their burdens with her, it wasn't fair if they carried everything.

Shia turned to wrap her arms around Dean's waist. Almost instantly, Dean reacted to her touch. Dean sleepily shifted his body to where he laid on his back, pulling Shia to his side. Shia placed a soft kiss on Dean's chest before falling back to sleep.

~•~

~November 21, 2005 (approximately 10:23) MOTEL ROOM~

The next morning in the motel room, and it's just Dean and Shia. Shia sat watching Dean with a smile on her face as he flicked through his fathers journal, trying to find an answer to this mystery of a case.

"You know, I didn't know you were so good with kids," Shia said, finally breaking the silence.

"Don't worry babe," Dean said, not looking up. "There's a lot about me you don't know yet."

"Yeah, that has come to light recently," Shia said, not all too sure if she wanted Dean to hear it or not.

"Meaning?" Dean said, turning to her.

"Well, I know you never talk about Mary, but…." Shia began, but Dean cut her off as he sighed loudly and turned away. "Come on Dean," Shia said, insistent on sticking to the subject this time. "That stuff you said with Lucas today. I was there too, you can't expect me to forget it. Were you thinking about Mary?"

"I didn't say anything about my mom," Dean said simply.

"No, but you were thinking it," Shia said. She knew it was the truth when Dean stayed quiet.

"I get it, you know," Shia continued softly. "I know you think I don't, but I do." Dean turned and slowly came eye to eye with Shia.

"Shia, it's just… I'm just…." Shia let out a gentle laugh as Dean trailed off.

"I get that too," Shia said, knowing exactly what he meant. "I just want you to know that when you are, you've got me."

Smiling at her, Dean softly caressed Shia's cheek as she smiled back. He leaned in and embraced Shia with a kiss, lacing his fingers through her hair. The kiss deepened as she pulled him closer to her. Dean moved his lips from his and made a kissing trail down her neck while his hands roamed her body.

They pulled apart from each other hearing Sam walk in.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie," Sam said as a hello.

"What do you mean?" Shia asked.

"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there," Sam answered. "Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?" Dean asked.

"Yep, in the sink," Sam announced, to which both Dean and Shia stared at him.

"What the hell?" Dean said. "So you're right, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else."

"Yeah, but what?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know. A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water…." Something came to Dean. "Water that comes from the same source."

"The lake," Shia said as all three came to the same conclusion.

"Yeah," Dean remarked.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count," Shia continued. "The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere," Dean said. "This is gonna happen again soon."

"And we do know one other thing for sure," Sam said. "We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"Yeah, It took both his kids. Damn, I'm starting to feel bad for the poor guy," Shia said, giving the obvious answer, although it was clear the Sam knew something they didn't.

"And I've been asking around," Sam began to tell them. "Lucas' dad, Chris—Bill Carlton's godson."

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit," Dean said, standing up and throwing his jacket on.

Up at Bill Carlton's house and he is again sat on the bench at the end of the dock, string out blankly at the water.

"Mr. Carlton," Sam said, announcing their presence as he, Dean and Shia walked up the dock. Shia looked around at the water, she was starting to feel nervous. She hated that she was hydrophobic, but she couldn't help it. The thought of drowning made her sweat.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind," Shia said as they stopped beside him.

"We're from the Department—" Dean continued, but was cut off by a distraught Bill Carlton.

"I don't care who you're with," he said, not looking up at them. "I've answered enough questions today."

"Your son said he saw something in that lake," Sam continued. "What about you? You ever see anything out there? Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death—We think there might be a connection to you or your family."

"My children are gone," Bill Carlton said, cutting into Sam's speech. "It's… it's worse than dying. Go away… please."

Seeing what was clearly a distraught father, Shia turned to leave, making sure the boys followed her and didn't try to ask any more questions.

Sam, Dean and Shia made their way back to the car, discussing what little they had just found out.

"What do you think?" Sam asked the other two.

"Aw, I think the poor guy's been through hell. He's depressed, I would be too if I lost both of my babies," Shia said.

"I also think he's not telling us something," Dean added as they stopped beside the car which was parked outside of Bill Carlton's house. Dean stared up at the house, noticing something suddenly.

"What is it?" Shia asked, seeing the way Dean was looking up at the house.

"Huh. Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something," Dean replied, pulling Lucas' picture from his pocket. It was a pretty accurate resemblance of the house in front of them. Pointing it towards Sam and Shia, they too saw the connection he did. Lucas.

Picking up on one of the best leads they had since they started this case, Sam, Dean and Shia went to Andrea's house to speak to Lucas.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea," Andrea had said after Dean had asked to speak to him.

"I just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes," Dean continued persistently.

"He won't say anything, what good's it gonna do?" Andrea said.

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt," Sam said, trying to get through to her the best he could. "We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others—They just drowned," Andrea said, truly believing that. "That's all."

"If that's what you really believe then we'll go," Shia said, trying to be comforting and persistent at the same time, something she had had to learn to master with Dean.

"But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son," Dean finished, desperately needing her to say yes.

And she said yes. Sam, Dean, Shia and Andrea all walked to the doorway of Lucas' room, watching him drawing with the toy soldiers spread out around them. Dean carried on walking further into the room, kneeling in front of me.

"Hey Lucas. You remember me?" He looks down at the pictures Lucas has drawn, seeing two more pictures of a red bicycle.

"You know, I, uh… I wanted to thank you for that last drawing," Dean continued. "But the thing is, I need your help again." Giving no kind of response to the fact that Dean was there, Lucas continued drawing what looked like a person in water. Watching him, Dean opened up the picture Lucas had given him, laying it down in front of him.

"How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me." Lucas said nothing.

"You're scared," Dean went on. "It's okay, I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too."

Knowing it was all coming out now, Dean glanced quickly up at Shia standing by the doorway, suddenly wishing all this had come out earlier.

"I didn't feel like talking, just like you," Dean said as he turned back to Lucas. "But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe… your dad wants you to be brave, too."

Finally giving a reaction, Lucas dropped his crayon and looked up at Dean. Still watching him, he handed him another picture, this one of a church, a small house and a boy with a red bicycle.

"Thanks, Lucas," Dean said, watching as he went back to his drawings.

~•~

Searching for the location in the picture, Sam, Dean and Shia were driving away from Andrea's.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died," Dean said, his eyes on the road.

"There are cases going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies," Sam suggested.

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean asked the car collectively. "I mean it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns."

Sam looked a little less than convinced, and Dean picked up on this.

"If you got a better lead, please," Dean said. And Sam didn't.

"All right… we got another house to find," he said, looking down at the picture.

"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone," Dean said.

"See this church?" Sam said, motioning the picture towards Dean and Shia. "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, college boy thinks he's so smart," Dean joked. The other two laughed slightly, leaving a small silence when they stopped.

Pushing out of the silences, Shia leaned against Dean's seat from the back of the car. Sam glanced at Dean then at Shia.

"You know, um… what you said about mom, you never told me that before," Sam said.

"It's one f those thins I've never known about you." Shia added to Sam's comment.

"It's no big deal," Dean said, brushing it off. But Shia carried on staring at Dean from her position, making him slightly uncomfortable at the look she was getting in her eyes.

"Oh God, it's not gonna be one of those moments, is it?" he said. Shia laughed softly, wrapping herself loosely round Dean's neck and kissing his cheek. Now this was the Dean she was used to… and could deal with, unfortunately.

Looking now for the church and not just the house, Sam, Dean and Shia eventually found the scene inside Lucas' picture.

The yellow house was owned by an old women living on her own who seemed shocked to see three strange young people standing on her doorstep.

"We're sorry to bother you ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean said and the shock suddenly turned to sorrow. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

"No sir. Not for a very long time," she began, letting them into her house and telling the story. "Peter's been gone for 35 years now. The police never—I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared."

While she was talking, something caught Shia's eyes. A set of toy soldiers set out on the table. She pointed them out to Dean, both of them thinking the same thing. Maybe there was another reason why Lucas had been playing with them.

"Losing him," the woman continued. "You know, it's… It's worse than dying." Similar looks of realization came over Sam, Dean and Shia's face at the use of a phrase they had heard only once before.

"Did he disappear from here," Dean asked, knocking away the look. "I mean, from this house?" the woman shook her head.

"He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up," she said. Dean's attention was now drawn by something else. Walking to the table, Dean pulled a picture of two boys from the mirror, one with a red bicycle. He turned it over and read from the back.

" 'Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, 1970.' " he looked over at Sam and Shia. Another connection, leading straight to Bill Carlton. The trio headed for the door.

"Wait, young lady," Ms. Sweeney said. Shia stopped and looked at her.

"Ma'am?" Shia asked.

"When you have children, keep a close eye on them. Please," Ms. Sweeney said to Shia. Shia looked at her with great sympathy in her eyes.

"Oh, trust me, I won't let anyone take my children. They'd have to kill me first," Shia turning to head for the door. Dean walked with her back to the car.

"So, you want kids?" Dean asked.

"Honestly. I did, but with this job...you can't," Shia said looking towards the ground. "We should hurry to Bill Carlton's house." Dean nodded and head towards the car, getting in and driving off.

Now in the car, Sam, Dean and Shia were driving down to Bill Carlton's place, going over everything they knew about this case.

"Okay this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow," Sam said.

"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean continued.

"And Bill—The people he loves—Are all getting punished."

"So what if Bill did something to Peter?"

"What if Bill killed him?" Shia added, speaking up.

"Then Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge. It's possible," Dean finished as they pulled up to Bill Carlton's house, getting out of the car and checking round for him.

"Mister Carlton?" Sam and Shia called into the air. And in answer the sound of an engine broke through the silence of the lake.

"Hey, check it out," Dean said as the trio turned to see Bill Carlton driving out onto the lake in a boat. Trying to keep him off the lake and live for as long as possible, Sam, Dean and Shia raced to the dock, yelling out to him.

"Mister Carlton!" they called out in unison. "You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!"

But Bill Carlton didn't. He simply turned to give the three a quick glance before driving further out. And as he went out further, a torrent of water rose up beneath his boat, sending him and the boat spiraling through the air. Sam, Dean and Shia jumped back in horror as the boat and Bill Carlton sank beneath the surface. She turned to look elsewhere. Dean grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

~•~

The trio ended up getting kicked out of town, Sam and Shia thought the job was done but Dean thought otherwise. They went back to town and headed for Andrea's house, she was going to drown in the bathtub until the trio came in and saved her.

While Sam and Shia were comforting Andrea, Dean was in the other room flipping through old scrapbooks. He had now picked one up that said 'Jake – 12 years old'. Flicking through the pages, his eyes widened as he stopped on one, racing back to Sam, Shia and Andrea. He laid the book down in front of Andrea, showing a picture of a Boy Scouts group.

"Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" Dean said, pointing to the picture in question.

"What? Um… Um, no," she said, glancing over the picture quickly then pointing to one of the boys. "I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about 12 in these pictures." She moved her finger over to a different picture, one of her father with Peter Sweeney.

"Chris Bar's drowning," Dean said, turning up to Sam and Shia. "The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to sheriff."

"Bill and the sheriff," Shia concluded. "They were both involved with Peter."

"What about Chris?" Andrea said, reminding them she was still there. "My dad—what are you talking about?" From the corner of his eye, Dean watched noticed Lucas walk into the room and stare out of the window.

"Lucas?" Dean said, causing the other to turn in that direction.

"Lucas, what is it?" As an answer, Lucas opened the door and walked out, the other four following him.

"Lucas, honey?" Andrea called as they walked after him. He carried on walking, stopping by a section of ground. He looked down at it then looked up at Dean who had stopped beside him.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Dean told Andrea. She did so, pulling Lucas away to the house.

Moments later and Sam and Dean are digging into the spot of ground Lucas had stopped at, Shia watching carefully beside them.

Their spades hitting against something with a thud, Sam and Dean reached into the ground to pull out whatever they had hit, Shia moving closer beside them. It was a red bicycle.

"Peter's bike," Sam said.

"Who are you?" Jake's voice echoed from behind the. Sam, Dean and Shia all turned to find him standing there with a gun aimed at them.

"Put the gun down, Jake," Shia said, calmer than she felt.

"How did you know that was there?" Jake said, not lowering the weapon.

"What happened," Dean said, not trying to stay calm at all. "You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

Outside, Sam, Dean and Shia were still trying to get Jake to lower his gun and tell them what they needed to know.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Jake said once they had tried to explain their version of events to him.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago,' Dean repeated. "That's what the hell I'm talking about."

"Dad!" Andrea called as she ran up to them.

"And now you got one seriously pissed off spirit," Dean continued.

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love," Sam said, being the rational one as usual. "It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Jake said, gun still aimed high.

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton," Shia finished.

"Listen to yourselves, the three of you. You're insane," Jake said.

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us," Dean said, and he really didn't. "But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake."

Andrea had now had chance to hear the whole story.

"Dad, is any of this true?" she asked.

"No. Don't listen to them," Jake said, never taking his eyes off Sam, Dean and Shia. "They're liars and they're dangerous."

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me," Andrea called, and he did. "Tell me you—you didn't kill anyone." Not able to lie to his daughter, Jake turned away, lowering the gun and breathing heavily.

"Oh my God," Andrea whispered, clasping her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Billy and I were at the lake," Jake said, beginning to re-tell the whole story. "Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time… it got rough. We were holding his head under the water, we didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank. Oh Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost… it's not rational."

"All right listen to me, all of you," Dean said. "We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now."

They were distracted as a gasped echoed from Andrea. They all turned in the direction her eyes had travelled to find Lucas heading down towards the dock.

"Lucas!" Jake called as the group ran to him. By the lake, Lucas knelt by the dock, reaching his hand towards the surface of the water, Peter's voice still echoing out.

"Come play with me."

"Lucas!" Dean called as they got closer.

"Lucas! Baby stay where you are!" Andrea called out. From under the water, a hand came up, pulling Lucas below the surface just as Sam, Dean, Shia, Andrea and Jake reached the edge of the water. Jake is the only one to stop, frozen in place as he sees Peter's head just above the water surface, watching him before he dives back under.

Sam, Dean, Shia and Andrea continued running, Sam and Dean diving quickly into the water without slowing.

"Oh my God!" Andrea called in shock, pulling off her jacket and heading to the edge of the dock after Sam and Dean.

"Andrea, stay here," Shia called, holding her back.

"No, Lucas!" Andrea screamed, struggling under Shia's hold.

"They'll get him just stay on the dock," Shia said, keeping hold of Andrea as her struggles lessened. They stayed on the dock, watching as Sam dove under and Dean came up for breath. Moments later, Sam was up as well.

"Sam?" Dean called, asking. Sam shook his head.

"Lucas where are you," Andrea called, tears in her eyes. As Sam and Dean dove back under the surface, Jake pulled off his jacket and waded into the lake.

"Peter," Jake called over the water. "If you can here me. Please Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so—I'm so sorry."

"Daddy, no," Andrea screamed, falling to her knees as Shia kept a hold on her trying to comfort her.

"Peter," Jake continued. "Lucas—He's just a little boy. Please, it's not his fault, it's mine. Please take me."

"Jake, no!" Dean called as he came up to the surface and saw the commotion above water. But Jake didn't listen. He continued to shout as Pete swam up underneath him.

"Just let it be over!" he called. And it was as Peter dragged him under the surface.

"Daddy! Daddy! No!" Andrea screamed, utterly distraught. Sam and Dean dive under again, Sam surfacing shortly after and shaking his head to Andrea. Andrea continued to cry. Shia looked in the lake and thought she saw someone. She knew it was a long shot for it to be Lucas but the hunter inside of her told her to check.

"Lucas? Peter?" Shia asked as she leaned forward to get a good look. It was Peter. He grabbed her ankle and dragged her into to the water. Andrea screamed as she saw Shia get drag in.

Shia struggled against Peter's strength. As she started sinking, she looked up to see she was at least five feet under the water. Her hydrophobia started to freak her out, she swayed her hands around as if she was going to get a hold of something, then she started to scream. But no one heard her, her lungs began to fill with water. Then, black out.

As Andrea cried, thinking she had now lost both her father and her son, Dean surfaced from the water, Lucas tight in his arms.

"Dean! It has Shia! It took her down!" Andrea screamed as she was holding on to Lucas. Dean became frantic, he did what came natural, so he jumped back in and attempted to save his girlfriend.

Moments later Dean came to the surface and had Shia in his arms, Sam rushed over to help him. Dean tried everything, but she wasn't breathing.

"Come on! Wake up! You can't leave me like this! Come on, please. I need you be okay. We can stop hunting for a while, just like you wanted. You wanted to take a break. You asked for just one week. I promise we'll take that week off, just wake up! I need you to be okay! Damn it, Shia," Dean yelled as he held on to her lifeless body. Sam was now in tears, he thinks he just lost his best friend.

"Dean, she's gone-" Sam started to say but Dean didn't want to hear it.

"Don't you say that to me, just don't." Dean said holding on to her.

At that moment his world was crashing down, they haven't been officially dating long, but they've known each other for years. He was in love with her, he loved everything about her. He loved how everyone around her could be sad, but she would find a way to make them happy.

She was easy to talk to. She had the weirdest laugh, it was cute to him though. He loved the way her hair would curl up in humid weather when she just straighten it minutes before. He loved that see wasn't skinny or super thin, he loved her curvaceous body. He loved how her dark brown eyes looked light brown in the sun, he loved her brown skin...Dean loved everything about her...now she's gone.

Sam stared at Dean, he couldn't believe it. He best friend was gone, he couldn't deal with another heartbreak. First Jessica, now this.

He looked at Shia for a minute, he noticed her finger moved.

Moments later her body wasn't so lifeless anymore. She started to cough up a massive amount of water.

Dean started to kiss her face, he was holding on her tightly. Sam pulled Shia away from Dean so he could give her a hug.

"Whoa, boys, what the hell happened?" Shia asked, her voice was raspy from all the coughing she did. Sam just simply smiled at and pulled her into another hug. Dean shook his head before moving the wet pieces of hair, stuck to her skin, away from her face.

~•~

Dried off and ready to put this town behind them, Sam, Dean and Shia walked out of their motel room and to the car. Watching Dean as she walked beside him, Shia knew what Dean was thinking. It was written clearly across his face.

"Look, we're not gonna save everybody," she said as they stopped by the car.

"I know," Dean replied, but the look on his face was still there.

"Sam, Dean, Shia," Andrea's voice called out to them as she and Lucas walked up to the three.

"Hey," Dean said as they stopped in front of the car.

"We're glad we caught you. We just um, we made you lunch for the road," Andrea said, motioning to the tray in Lucas' hands. "Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself."

"Can I give it to them now?" Lucas spoke up softly. The group smiled, Andrea kissing Lucas gently on his forehead.

"Of course," she replied.

"Come on Lucas; let's load this into the car," Dean said, guiding Lucas to the car and leaving Sam and Shia with Andrea.

"How you holding up?" Shia asked.

"It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?" Andrea said, emotion clear in her voice.

"Andrea, I'm sorry," Shia said sympathetically.

"You guys saved my son," Andrea said with a small smile. "I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that."

At the car, Dean loaded the sandwiches into the car and turned in his seat to face Lucas.

"All right, if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it one more time," Dean said with all sincerity.

"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas repeated.

"That's right. Up high," Dean said, holding up his hand which Lucas high fived.

"You take care of your mom, okay?" Dean said, standing out of the car.

"All right," Lucas said as Sam, Shia and Andrea walked up to them. Leaning against the car door, Andrea leaned forward and quickly kissed Dean.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled away. For a minute, Dean was little bemused from the kiss. But then again, the way women changed their minds so often had always confused him.

"Sam, Shia, move your asses," Dean said, turning away and moving to the drivers side. "We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."

Sam and Shia followed him into the car, the three of them smiling as Andrea and Lucas waved goodbye as they pulled away.

Driving away, the three drove in almost complete silence, the radio the only sound. As he drove, Dean watched Shia in the rear-view mirror. She was slouched against the seat, gazing distractedly out of the window.

"Shia, are you…." Dean began. He was distracted as she leaned forward, wrapping her arms loosely round Dean's neck and smiling.

"Don't ask," she said, kissing him as he turned slightly to look her way. "You don't have to. You saved my life, Dean. Thank you."

Smiling, Dean turned back to the road, his free hand laced in Shia's as she held her arms round his neck still. Watching them from the corner of his eyes, Sam smiled softly. He always wondered what kept his brother and his best friend together. As long as they were happy, he was happy.


	5. Chapter 5: Phantom Traveler (1x04)

"When my heart is ready to burst

When the world spins in reverse

I'll keep running

To the place where I belong

When you go, turn down the light

No one's here to hold you in the night

I'll keep running

To the place where I belong

When you think you're on your own

I'm still coming home!

When our picture fades in the sun

And all the colors blur in the one

I'll keep running

To the place where I belong

When you think you're on your own

I'm still coming home!" — James Bay, Running.

~PHANTOM TRAVELER (1x04)~

~DECEMBER 3, 2005 (approximately 2:15 p.m.) MOTEL ROOM~

Shia was in the motel room alone reading through books about other beings that she and the Winchesters might run into one day.

Just as she was getting really into the book, Shia heard a faint knock at the door. She walked over slowly to the door with a gun in her left hand, Shia opened the door to reveal a young man at little older than herself.

"Um, hi, how can I help you?" Shia asked awkwardly yet politely. She gave the young man a smile, not wanting him to catch on the fact that she has a gun trained on him through the door.

"You must be Shia, It's great to finally meet you," The man said returning the smile she gave him. "Is it alright if I come in? We have to talk." Shia gave him a weary look before cocking her gun, aiming it at his forehead. The man's eye widen with shock, he lifted his hands up, just to show her he meant no harm.

Shia nodded her head at him, telling him to come in with her gun still on him. "How do you know my name?" Shia asked as she walked towards him.

She noticed his appearance. He was about 5'10". He had dark brown hair, and light brown skin. His eyes were a beautiful brown. She felt like she vaguely knew him.

"I'm your brother, Shia. I know it might sound crazy put Athena is my mother. I met her about ten years ago when I was eighteen, she came to me in my dorm room at this University I use to attend. She told me about my siblings and how we are all destined for something. I'm pretty sure she didn't tell you about me or your other brother, Michael. Oh, I'm being rude. I'm Julius," He said gesturing for a hand shake, Shia looked at him for a minute and took action into her own hands.

She waved her hand throwing him against the wall, she thought of holy water and it appeared in her hands, she took the flask off and threw the holy water on him. She waited for his skin to sizzle. He didn't burn.

"I'm not a demon! I'm your brother," Julius said getting up. He walked slowly towards her. "Please, trust me."

"What he says is true, you are our sister," a deep voice behind her said.

"You must be Micheal." Shia commented, now aiming her second gun at both of their heads.

Then, she took in his appearance. He was about 6'2". He had jet black hair, cut in a fade only leaving a patch of curly hair at the top of his head. He had dark brown eyes and dark skin. He walked over to Julius to stand beside him.

"Okay, I get it! You're my brothers. What the hell do you want? And why am I just not finding out about this? What's going on? Tell me now," Shia said looking at them softly. She saw some similar features, the have the same form of smile. They have similar noses, Athena's nose. Damn it, she has brothers.

Great, more men in her life.

"Wait, I thought I was Athena's only child?"

"No, you are her only daughter," Michael corrected.

"How many of us out there?" Shia asked as she slowly sat on the bed. Micheal sat on the opposite bed, and Julius sat beside her.

"Just us three," Julius told her. Shia didn't know what to say.

"There's a war that will start soon. Humans, Heaven, and Hell. For now, you need to worry about demons. There's one demon that's after your neck. His name is Azazel, known as Yellow eyes. He's a big fan of the Winchesters. As soon as he found out who you were, he was out for you. Now, little sister, you must stay safe. You need to use your powers more. The more trained and confident you are with your abilities, the better. I know you don't like using your powers, but as of right now it's a way to keep you safe. That's why we're here, to tell you that.

We've been keeping an eye on you though. Anyone that wants to hurt you will have to go through your big brothers. But, we won't be there for you all the time. See, I have a life. You know? I have a job and a house. You can drop by anytime. We have to leave now the Winchesters will be here at any minute," Michael said as he walked over by the door. He gave Shia a goodbye smile and left.

Shia took a look at Julius and he was looking at her, blankly.

"I don't know what to say," Shia said looking at her hands.

"It's okay. It's a lot to take in," Julius said giving her a side hug. She didn't understand how she was so comfortable around them both, it's like she have known them her whole life. "I have to go, see you around." He used his orbing powers to leave.

Moments later the Winchester brothers walked in, they looked at the room and it was a mess.

"What the hell happened? How-," Dean said but he looked at Shia and stopped. "Hey, Shia, baby. You okay? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm fine," Shia told him with a smile.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look like you had a bar fight in here," Sam said looking at the broken objects in the room...

"Yeah, I'm fine. How about we go to the diner and get something to eat? I'm starving." Shia stated as she headed over the door. The two brothers shared a confused look and followed Shia to the door.

Shia hid her very confused look, trying to take in the news she just received from her...brothers.

~DECEMBER 14, 2005 (approximately 5:42 a.m.) MOTEL ROOM~

Out of town in a small motel room, Dean and Shia are asleep in their usual spooning position. The door to their room opened a crack and Dean awoke slowly, shifting slightly and waking Shia. The door slammed, startling Dean and Shia fully awake. They looked up to see Sam walking in the room carrying coffee and donuts.

"Mornin', sunshines," Sam said brightly, clearly having been awake for hours. Sam heard Shia mumble 'fuck off'. He laughed slightly forgetting that she can be a little grumpy in the morning.

"What time is it?" Dean asked.

"It's about 5:45," Sam answered. Shia rolled her eyes at the mention of the time. She hated early mornings.

"In the morning?" Shia asked, touching her face to make sure she was really awake.

"Yep," Sam replied.

"Where does the day go?" Dean said as he and Shia sat up in bed.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked Sam.

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours," Sam said unconvincingly.

"Liar," Dean said. "'Cause I was up at three, and you were watchin' the George Foreman infomercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV," Sam said.

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. A little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern—"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you," Dean cut in. "It's both you guys job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp." Sam shrugged, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Sam, honey, are you still having nightmares about Jess?" Shia said.

"Yeah," Sam said, sitting on the bed across from Dean and Shia, handing them both a cup of coffee. "But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job—man, it gets to you."

"Well, you can't let it," Dean said confidently. "You can't bring it home like that."

"So, what? All this—it never keeps you up at night?" Sam asked, to which Dean shook his head.

"Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really," Dean said. Knowing better, Sam reached under Dean's pillow and pulled out the knife that was hidden. Shia, clearly unaware of the fact that was there, turned to glare at Dean.

"Dean, what the hell?" Shia asked a little shocked that he kept knives hidden.

"That's not fear," Dean said, snatching the knife back. "That is precaution."

"Precaution my ass, next time tell me you have knives under your pillow," Shia said, smacking his shoulder playfully, to which Dean smiled cockily at her, pulling her into a hug, giving her a solid kiss on the lips.

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue," Sam said just as Dean's cell phone rang. The three stared at it before they answered. There weren't many people who had that number, who would be calling at this hour.

"Well, I'm not getting it," Shia said looking between the boys. Dean sighed. Cautiously, Dean answered it.

"Hello?"

"Dean, it's Jerry Panowski," the voice on the other end said. The name rang no bells for Dean. "You and your dad helped me out a couple years back."

"Oh, right, yeah," Dean said, the memories finally falling into place. "Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing."

At the mention of a previous job, Shia, who had been listening to Dean's end of the conversation with Sam, also clicked on who would be on the other end.

"It's not back, is it?" Dean continued.

"No, no," Jerry said. "Thank God, no. But it's something else, and, well, I think it could be a lot worse."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"Can we talk in person?" Jerry asked in return, not to eager to discuss this over the phone from his office.

"Yeah, sure, we'll get there as soon as we can," Dean said as he hung up the phone.

"Who was it?" Shia asked as she used her powers to make her brush appear in her hands. The brothers looked at her, they were still getting use to her using her abilities. "Are you guys still shock I use my powers often now?"

"No, but it's just...it's not something you see everyday," Sam said. Shia shrugged, getting off the bed and heading to the bathroom.

~••~

Not too long later, Sam, Dean and Shia arrived at Jerry's workplace, a construction site for old or broke down airplanes. Jerry was guiding the three through the warehouse, talking about what his earlier phone call had been about.

"Thanks for makin' the trip so quick," Jerry said. "I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean, Shia and your dad really helped me out," he said, turning to Sam.

"Yeah, they told me. It was a poltergeist?" Sam said, a passing employee overhearing them.

"'Poltergeist'? Man, I loved that movie!" the employee piped up.

"Hey, nobody's talkin' to you. Keep walkin'," Jerry said to his employee before turning back to Sam. "Damn right, it was a poltergeist—practically tore our house apart."

Jerry this time turned to Dean and Shia. "I'll tell you somethin'—if it wasn't for you guys and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive." His attention again flicked to Sam.

"Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"

"Yeah, I was," Sam said. "I'm….takin' some time off."

"Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time."

"He did?" Sam said, glancing over at Dean and Shia who were smiling his way.

"Yeah, you bet he did. Oh, hey, you know, I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?"

"He's, um….he's wrapped up in a job right now," Dean said, not willing to go into detail to people outside of the family right now.

"Well, we're missin' the old man. We get Sam. Even trade, huh?" Jerry said, and the four of them laughed slightly.

"No, not by a long shot," Sam said.

"I've got somethin' I want you guys to hear," Jerry said, guiding them into his office. While Sam, Dean and Shia sat on the three chairs across from his desk, Jerry sat at his computer, playing a CD into the player.

"I listened to this," Jerry said as he turned back to the trio. "Well, it sounded like it was up your alley. Normally, I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia Flight 2485. It was one of ours."

He hit the play button and the CD kicked in. over all the static and other sounds coming from the recording, they could just manage to hear the sound of voices.

"Mayday. Mayday," Chuck's panicked voice rang out. "Repeat. This is United Britannia flight 2485 requesting immediate instructions and help."

"United Britannia flight 2485, we copy your mayday," a calmer man replied.

"We may be experiencing some kind of mechanical failure…." Chuck continued, but his voice was suddenly taken over by a demonic sounding hissing and an even more demonic sounding growl. At this point, the CD stopped and Sam, Dean and Shia exchanged a confused look.

"Took off from here—crashed about two hundred miles south," Jerry told them. "Now, they're saying mechanical failure. The cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board—only seven got out alive. The pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh….well, he's pretty broken up about it—like it was his fault."

"And you don't think it was?" Shia said.

"No, I don't."

"Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, a list of survivors—" Sam began, counting off on his fingers.

"Right. And any way we can take a look at the wreckage?" Dean cut in.

"The other stuff is no problem, but the wreckage—fellas, the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance.

"No problem," Dean said, shrugging. Shia looked over at him, knowing all too well he was up to something.

They were making their way to the car, Shia walking beside her boyfriend.

"Dean, what are you thinking?" Shia asked.

"Dirty things about you. Follow me," Dean said giving Shia a wink and making her blush.

~••~

Having already been sat outside the Copy Jack for quite some time now, Sam and Shia were getting a little bored of waiting for Dean. Just as one of them were about to go in looking for him, he walked out oh so casually.

"You've been in there forever," Sam said as he walked up to them.

"You can't rush perfection," Dean said, holding up two fake ID's.

"Homeland Security?" Sam said as he took his.

"That's pretty illegal, even for us," Sam said as they moved to sit in the car.

"Where's my ID?" Shia asked.

"Oh, you're not coming with us," Dean said as the three climbed into the car, Dean and Shia in the front while Sam climbed into the backseat.

"What the hell do you mean I'm not coming with you?" Shia asked.

"You'll be our getaway driver if we get busted," Dean said grabbing her hand and giving it a sweet kiss.

"Wait, I'm driving your baby?" Shia asked. Dean just gave her a smile.

"All right, so, what do you got?" Dean asked Sam.

"Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder," Sam said as she opened his laptop.

"Yeah?" Dean said.

"Listen," he said as he played an audio recording from the laptop.

After a minute of static, a clear voice came through, creepily uttering two words.

"No survivors."

"'No survivors'?" Dean questioned as Sam stopped the recording.

"What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors."

"We don't know," Shia said.

"So, what are you thinkin'? A haunted flight?" Dean asked.

"There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers," Sam said.

"Mm-hmm," Dean said in agreement.

"Or, remember Flight 401?" Shia said.

"Right—the one that crashed," Dean began. "Then the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and co-pilot haunted those flights."

"Right," Shia answered.

"Yep," Dean replied.

"Maybe we've got a similar deal," Shia suggested.

"All right, so, survivors," Dean said, holding up the list. "Which one do you wanna talk to first?"

"Third on the list—Max Jaffey," Sam said, pointing at his name.

"Why him?" Dean asked.

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did."

"What makes you say that?" Dean asked.

"Well, I spoke to his mother, and she told me where to find him."

"Wait, can I please come in to see the guy at least?" Shia asked.

"Okay, fine, you'll be my intern," Dean said starting the car.

~••~

And where Max currently spending his days was at Riverfront Psychiatric Hospital. Sam, Dean and Shia had blagged their ways in and were walking through the gardens outside the building with Max, him walking with a slight limp in his step.

"I don't understand," he said as he continued to walk behind them. "I already spoke with Homeland Security."

"Right," Dean answered. "Some new information has come up. So if you could just answer a couple questions…."

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything unusual?" Sam asked.

"Like what?" Max questioned.

"Strange lights, weird noises, maybe….voices?" Dean put in.

"No, nothing," Max said, but it wasn't all that convincing.

"Hmm. Mr. Joffey…."

"Jaffey," Max corrected Dean.

"Jaffey. You checked yourself in here, right?" Dean continued. Max nodded. "Can I ask why?"

"I was a little stressed," Maxc said in the same unconvincing tone. "I survived a plane crash."

"Uh-huh. And that's what terrified you? That's what you were afraid of?" Dean said.

"I-I don't wanna talk about this anymore," Max said.

"See, I think maybe you did see somethin' up there. We need to know what."

"No. No, I was delusional—seeing things.," Max said.

"He was seeing things," Dean repeated to Sam and Shia, and both could tell this kid was getting on his nerves already. Shia shrugged at him, thinking that after what Dean had been saying, she had a better chance of getting something out of him.

"It's okay," Shia said, trying to be more comforting that Dean. "Then just tell us what you thought you saw, please."

"There was… this… man," Max finally fessed up. "And, uh, he had these… eyes—these, uh… black eyes. And I saw him—or I thought I saw him…."

"What?" Shia questioned.

"He opened the emergency exit. But that's….that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's somethin' like two tons of pressure on that door." And yeah. All three of them knew that was physically impossible… for a human.

"This man," Sam began. "Did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It wouldn't look something like a mirage?"

"What are you, nuts?" Max said.

"He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me." The trio exchanged a look. Ok, this guy was human.

Moments later, Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up to what they had found out was George Phelps house.

"Here we are—George Phelps, seat 20C," Sam said as they pulled up.

"Hmm. Man, I don't care how strong you are," Dean said as the three got out of the car. "Even yoked up on PCP or somethin', no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight."

"Not if you're human," Sam stated. "But maybe this guy, George, was somethin' else—a creature maybe, in human form?"

"That look like a creature's lair to you?" Shia said as she gestured towards the very normal looking suburban house that was George Phelps address. "It's beautiful."

The trio were now in the supposed 'creatures lair', speaking to the late George Phelps' wife. Sam picked up a photo of what he assumed was George, making a conversation starter with his wife.

"This is your late husband?" Sam said.

"Yes, that was my George," Mrs Phelps replied.

"And you said he was a… dentist?" Dean said somewhat sceptically.

"Mm-hmm," she answered. "He was headed to a convention in Denver. Do you know that he was petrified to fly? For him to go like that…." Her voice trailed off as the tears began to come, which is when the more sensitive of the trio came into play.

"How long were you married?" Shia asked, getting a smile from Mrs. Phelps at her memories of her husband.

"Thirteen years," she said.

"Wow, lucky man," Shia said giving her a smile.

"Oh, thank you. Are you married?"

"Oh, no, but I am currently seeing someone."

"Oh." Mrs. Phelps said.

"In all that time you were married, did you ever notice anything… strange about him," Sam asked. "Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Well… uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean," Mrs Phelps told them. The three exchanged a look. Not exactly the something strange they had expected.

Getting all the information they could out of Mrs. Phelps, Sam, Dean and Shia left to find a new way to find more.

"I mean, it goes without saying," Sam said as they left. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, a middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified," Dean said. "You know, what we need to do is get inside that NTSB warehouse, check out the wreckage."

"Okay. But if you're gonna go that route, you better look the part," Shia told the boys. Dean knew exactly what she meant, he hated the idea she had in mind.

~•~

And looking the part meant putting the boys in suits. The two walked out of Mort's For Style, both dressed in very business looking suits.

"Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers," Dean moaned.

"No, you don't. You look more like a seventh grader at his first dance," Sam corrected.

"I hate this thing," Dean said, glaring at his brother.

"Hey, you want into that warehouse or not?" Sam said. Dean said nothing, which was enough of an answer for his brother. The two walked back to the car where Shia was standing, and seeing the boys walk out. She was loving the idea.

"Damn, babe, seeing you in that suit turns me on," Shia said as they walked up to her.

"Yeah? Well, I should wear things like this more often," Dean said with a smile on his face leaning in to give her a kiss.

"Guys! Can we focus on the case? Please?" Sam asked.

"Oh, you're mad because you never get laid," Dean said, the smile on his face matching Shia's. "Come on," he said as the three climb into the Impala and drove off.

~••~

While the boys checked out the wreckage, Shia was outside waiting or watching out for anything to happen. A black SUV pulled up by the building, men in suits were now walking towards the building.

"Damn it," Shia said as she grabbed her phone to call Dean. "Dean? Get out now!"

The brothers are outside of the warehouse having exited through the back of the building, walking calmly towards the car. Their calm walk turns into a run as alarms blare around them, and they know what for. They realize they'll have to jump the fence. Throwing his suit jacket over the fence, Dean hit the ground first.

"Huh. These monkey suits do come in handy," Dean said as Sam dropped beside him. Grabbing his own jacket, they run back to the car as Shia started the vehicle.

Back at Jerry's office, Sam, Dean and Shia watch as Jerry investigates the substance they brought back with them.

"Huh," Jerry said as he looked up. "This stuff is covered in sulfur."

"I knew that, I'm always right," Shia whispered to Dean, he smiled.

"You're sure?" Sam asked, thinking he knows just what that means.

"Take a look for yourself," Jerry said, the sound of shouting employees in the hallway heard over his voice. "If you guys will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire," Jerry continued as he walked out of the room, shouting out at his employees.

"Hey, Einstein. Yeah, you. What the heck are you doing? Put the wrench down." Letting Jerry leave and continue his yelling, Sam took his place at the microscope, looking into the lens.

"Hmm. You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulfuric residue," he said as he pulled up.

"Demonic possession?" Dean questioned, although the answer was clear. "It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch," Shia answers.

"If the guy was possessed, it's possible."

"Yeah, but this goes way beyond floatin' over a bed or barfin' pea soup," Dean, Mr Look-For-Anything-But-The-Obvious-Answer, pipes up. "I mean, it's one thing to possess a person, but to use 'em to take down an entire airplane?"

"You ever heard of somethin' like this before?" Sam asked the two in front of him.

"Never," Dean answered as Shia shook her head.

~•~

Back at their motel, the trio were researching this demon, searching for any signs this thing might have struck before. Sam sat at his laptop while Dean and Shia laid in their bed reading books about demons.

"So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right?" Sam said, pulling Dean and Shia's attention back to him as the pair sit up. "I mean, Christian, Native American, Hindu—you name it."

"Yeah, but none of 'em describe anything like this," Dean states.

"Well, that's not exactly true. See, according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease."

"And this one causes plane crashes?" Shia asked somewhat skeptically. Sam simply shrugged.

"All right, so, what?" Dean added in, climbing off the bed. "We've got a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?"

"Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one?" Sam said.

Thinking on this and every other piece of information flashing through his brain, Dean turned his back on his little brother and girlfriend, scratching his head.

"What?" Sam and Shia asked in unison, their worry for him and the case showing in their voices.

"I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig," Dean said, turning back to them. "I mean, demons—they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. You know, I wish Dad was here."

"Yeah. Me, too," Sam and Shia said, glancing sadly at Dean then at each other. Breaking the moment, Dean's cell phone began ringing, and Shia grabbed it from the night stand and answered it.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Shia, it's Jerry," Jerry's voice echoed from the other end, his words full of emotion.

"Oh, hey, Jerry," Shia said.

"My pilot friend, Chuck Lambert, is dead," Jerry told her.

"Jerry, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

"He and his buddy went up in a small twin about an hour ago. The plane went down."

"Where'd this happen?"

"About sixty miles west of here, near Nazareth."

"I'll try to ignore the irony in that," Shia said, his mind now replaying the information Sam had just given them.

"I'm sorry?" Jerry asked.

"Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll have a talk with you soon," Shia said as she hung up.

"Another crash?" Sam asked once the call had ended.

"Yeah. Let's go," Shia said, grabbing her jacket and Dean's keys.

"Whoa, you're not driving this time, babe," Dean said grabbing his keys from his girlfriend.

"Where did the plane crash?" Sam asked.

"Nazareth," Shia stated simply.

Both Sam and Dean smiled half-heartedly at her, them also seeing the irony in this all.

~•~

After speeding down to the wreckage before the NTBS could lock it up in another warehouse, Sam, Dean and Shia made their way back to Jerry with yet more sulphur covered items from the wreckage.

"Sulfur?" Dean asked as Jerry pulled out from the microscope. He nodded.

"Well, that's great," Dean said, turning to Sam and Shia who were sat behind the computer. "All right, so, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."

"With all due respect to Chuck, um….if that's the case, that would be the good news," Sam told them.

"What's the bad news?" Dean asked.

"Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into flight," Shia told him. "And get this—so did Flight 2485."

"Forty minutes? What does that mean?" Jerry asked.

"It's biblical numerology," Sam said.

"On Noah's Ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death."

"I went back," Shia continued. "And there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in."

"Any survivors?" Dean asked.

"No. Or not until now, at least—not until Flight 2485, for some reason."

"On the cockpit voice recorder," Sam cut in. "Remember what the EVP said?"

"'No survivors'," Dean said, to which Sam nodded. "It's goin' after all the survivors. It's tryin' to finish the job," Dean finished dramatically.

Now having a more clearer idea of what this demon wanted, the three where in the car, taking off to find it. Shia sat in the front beside Dean, her cell phone pressed against her ear.

"Really?" Shia said into the phone in an over the top friendly manner. "Well, thank you for taking our survey, and if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. You have a nice day! Thank you," she said as she hung up.

"All right," she said, shifting in her seat to speak to both brothers. "That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flyin' anytime soon."

"So, our only wildcard is the flight attendant, Amanda Walker," Dean said.

"Right," Shia said. "Her sister, Karen, said her flight leaves Indianapolis at 8 PM. It's her first night back on the job."

"That sounds like just our luck," Dean said.

"Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man," Sam informed them. "Even with you behind the wheel."

"Why don't you call Amanda's cell phone again," Dean said to Shia. "See if we can't head her off at the pass."

"I've already left her three voice messages," Shia said. "She must have turned her phone off."

"God, we're never gonna make it," Sam said defeatedly.

"Oh, we'll make it," Dean said, stepping on the gas and speeding faster down the road. The random speed adjustment caused Shia to jerk back in her sit.

"Damn it, Dean," Shia said.

"Oh, you'll live," Dean said sending her a small smile.

They just about managed to make it, rushing into the airport and over to the flight schedule screens.

"Right there," Sam said, pointing up at the screen. "They're boarding in thirty minutes."

"Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone," Dean said as he moved over to a courtesy phone on the wall beside them.

"Hi. Gate 13," Dean said to the operator on the other side. "I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on Flight, um…."

"424," Shia whispered.

"Flight 424," Dean repeated, waiting for Amanda to pick up.

In another area of the airport, the operators voice rang over the intercom.

"Amanda Walker, Amanda Walker. You have a phone call at the white courtesy phone, Gate 13."

At her gate, Amanda walked up the courtesy phone, just ready to board the plane.

"Come on…." Dean whispered into his side just as Amanda picked up.

"This is Amanda Walker," she said into the phone.

"Miss Walker," Dean continued into the phone. "Hi, this is Dr. James Headfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here."

"Karen?" Amanda said, suddenly worried.

"Nothing serious—just a minor car accident. But she was injured, so…."

"Wait, that's impossible," Amanda said, cutting Dean off. "I just got off the phone with her."

"You what?" Dean said, his story suddenly not working.

"Five minutes ago. She's at her house, cramming for a final. Who is this?"

"Uh, well… there must be some mistake," Dean said, suddenly lost for what to do next.

"And how would you even know I was here?" Amanda said as she paused to think. "Is this one of Vince's friends?"

"Guilty as charged," Dean said, chuckling as he picked up on this new cover story.

"Wow. This is unbelievable."

"He's really sorry."

"Well, you tell him to mind his own business and stay out of my life, okay?"

"Yes, but he really needs to see you tonight, so…."

"No," Amanda cut him off sharply. "I'm sorry. It's too late."

"Don't be like that," Dean said, trying to keep her on the line and off the plane. "Come on, the guy's a mess, really… it's pathetic."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Look, I've gotta go. Tell him to call me when I land."

"No, no, wait, Amanda," Dean said as Amanda put the phone down, leaving Dean to shout her name into an unoccupied phone.

"You just had to go with the sister getting in a car accident?" Shia asked Dean, with her arms crossed.

Dean shrugged, "It was the only thing I could think of."

Leaving the phone call behind her, Amanda made to board the plane. She walked into the plane, passing under a vent through the platform. A vent from which the black mist seeped out before disappearing quickly back inside.

Back at the entrance to the airport, Dean is suddenly out of ideas.

"Damn it! So close," he said, pacing around the airport.

"All right, it's time for Plan B," Sam said, his own plan forming. "We're getting on that plane."

"Now, just hold on a second," Dean said, definitely not liking this plan.

"Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board," Sam told his brother. "And if we're right, that plane is gonna crash."

"I know!" Dean said, quite agitated, and Shia suddenly figured just what the problem was.

"We're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon, and exorcise it. Look, I'll get the tickets. You just go and get whatever you can out of the trunk, whatever will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes," Sam said, but Dean didn't move.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"No, not really," Dean answered truthfully.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh…" he sighed, trailing off.

"Flying," Shia finished for him.

"Flying?" Sam questioned.

"It's never really been an issue until now," Dean told him.

"You're joking, right?" Sam said. Here it was finally. Something his brother was scared of.

"Do I look like I'm joking?' Dean said, and it was clear he wasn't. "Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

"All right. Uh, we'll go," Shia suggested, knowing just how much her boyfriend hated flying.

"What?" Dean said, immediately not liking Shia's idea.

"We'll do this one on our own."

"What are you, nuts?" Dean said. "You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash."

"Look, Dean, the three of us can do it together, or me and Sam can do this one ourselves. I'm not seeing a third option here," Shia said, making out like she was just helping Dean, but really trying to get him on the flight with them. If Dean knew lives were in danger, and that two of those lives were Sam and Shia, he'd go with them.

"Come on! Really?" Dean said, sighing in a defeated manner as it began to work. "Man." Sam left to go get the tickets, Shia used her powers to make the supplies she can carry on the plane appear.

"Dean, everything will be okay. You have me," Shia said giving Dean a hug and a small kiss on his neck.

"Don't worry so much. Okay? You'll be fine." Dean gave her a smile smile and kiss her lips.

~•~

The plane was now up in the air and Dean's panic hadn't ceased. He sat in almost exactly same position before the plane took off, humming gently as Shia leaned in to try and listen, it sounded familiar to her. Metallica?

"Are you humming Metallica?" she asked.

"It calms me down," Dean stated simply.

"Look, baby, I get you're nervous, okay?" Shia said. "But you've got to stay focused. Try to do that for me."

"Okay," Dean said, but his voice said there was only one thing he was focused on, and it wasn't the demon.

"We've got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism," Sam reminded them.

"Yeah, on a crowded plane, that's gonna be easy." Dean said sarcastically.

"Just take it one step at a time, all right? Now, who is it possessing?"

"Well, it's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know," Dean spieled off. "A chink in the armor that the demon can worm through—somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress."

"Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash," Sam said. "If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up."

"Mm-hmm," Dean said as a flight attendant walked past them.

"Excuse me. Are you Amanda?" he asked her.

"No, I'm not," she answered.

"Oh, my mistake," Dean said with a polite smile.

"Mm-hmm," the flight attendant mumbled as she walked away.

Looking for any other flight attendants, Dean turned to see Amanda stood at the back of the plane by the restrooms.

"All right, well, that's got to be Amanda back there," Dean said as he turned back to Sam and Shia, and they turned to see Amanda. "So… I'll go talk to her and, uh, I'll get a read on her mental state."

"What if she's already possessed?" Sam asked.

"There's ways to test that," Dean said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of water. "I brought holy water."

"No, I think we can go more subtle," Shia said, snatching the bottle from him. "If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God."

"Oh. Nice," Dean said as he stood to walk away.

"Hey," Sam called back to him.

"What?"

"Say it in Latin."

"I know," he said, beginning to walk away.

"Hey!" Shia called him back again.

"What?!"

"In Latin, it's 'Cristo'."

"Shia, I know, I'm not an idiot!" he said, this time finally walking away.

Making his way to Amanda, the plane hits turbulence and begins to jolt. Dean quickly grabbed a hold of the nearest chair, pausing until the plane steadied itself. Gritting his teeth, he thudded the back of the chair as he again made his way to the back of the plane.

"Actually, he is an idiot. He didn't know to say 'Cristo'," Shia said to Sam chuckling about what she just said about Dean.

"Hey, he's your boyfriend," Sam said smiling at Shia.

Dean quickly went back to Sam and Shia, slumping down into his seat.

"All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet," he mutter almost angrily as he sat.

"You said 'Cristo'?" Shia asked.

"Yeah."

"And?" Sam continued.

"There's no demon in her. There's no demon getting in her." Dean made Shia giggle by saying that.

"So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone… anywhere," Sam finished, just as the plane began to rumble and shake almost violently.

"Come on! That can't be normal!" Dean called, gripping tighter to the chair arms.

"Hey, hey, it's just a little turbulence," Shia said comfortingly.

"Shia, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treatin' me like I'm friggin' four!" Dean said, turning to her as the plane steadied itself.

"You need to calm down," Shia reiterated. "Stop acting like a child."

"Well, I'm sorry, I can't!" Dean stated.

"Yes, you can."

"Babe, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap, it's not helping!"

"Listen, if you're panicked, you're wide open to demonic possession, so you need to calm yourself down right now," Shia reminded Dean.

Knowing she was right, Dean paused before letting out a slow and hopefully calming breath.

"Good," Shia said with a small smile.

"Now, I found an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work," Sam said, opening his father's journal.

"The ritual Romano."

"What do we have to do?" Dean asked.

"It's two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful."

"More powerful?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Well, it doesn't need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own."

"Oh, and why is that a good thing?" Dean asked, shocked at how Sam would think that would help at all.

"Well, because the second part sends the bastard back to hell," Shia finished. "Once and for all."

"First thing's first," Dean said.

"We've got to find it."

~•~

Knowing exactly who the demon was inside, Sam, Dean and Shia made their way to the opposite end of the plane, heading for the only person who had a slight chance of believing them.

"She's not gonna believe this," Sam said.

"Twelve minutes, dude," Dean reminded them as the three stepped behind the curtain where Amanda was standing.

"Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope," Amanda said, noticing Dean.

"Actually, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about," Dean said as Sam closed the curtain behind them.

"Um, okay. What can I do for you?" Amanda asked.

"All right, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole 'The truth is out there' speech right now," Dean started off.

"All right, look," Shia said, pushing her way in front of Dean and cutting him off. "We know you were on Flight 2485."

"Who are you guys?" Amanda said, fairly shocked.

"We've spoken to some of the other survivors," Shia carried on, ignoring her question. "We know something brought down that plane, and it wasn't mechanical failure."

"And we need your help because we need to stop it from happening again, here, now," Dean finished.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm very busy," Amanda said as she tried to walk past them, but Den stopped her, taking hold of her arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?" Dean said as he guided Amanda back into the room and let her go. "But listen to me—the pilot from 2485, Chuck Lambert—he's dead."

"Wait, what? Chuck is dead?" Amanda said, shocked.

"He died in a plane crash," Dean told her. "Now, that's two plane crashes in two months. That doesn't strike you as strange?"

"Look, there was something wrong with 2485," Sam carried on. "Now, maybe you sensed it, and maybe you didn't, but there's something wrong with this flight, too."

"Amanda, you have to believe us," Dean finished. The three watched her expectantly as she struggled with the decision about whether she believed these three or not.

"On… on 2485, there was this man," Amanda began, making her decision. "He… had these eyes."

"Yes, that's exactly what we're talking about," Sam said.

"But I don't understand. What are you asking me to do?" Amanda asked.

"Get the co-pilot," Dean told her. "We need you to bring him back here."

"Why? What does he have to do with anything?"

"Don't have time to explain. We just need to talk to him, okay?"

"But how am I supposed to go into the cockpit and get the co-pilot…."

"Whatever it takes," Sam cut her off "Do whatever it takes. Tell him there's something broken back here. Whatever will get him out of that cockpit."

"Do you know that I could lose my job if…."

"You're gonna lose a lot more than that if you don't help us out," Shia said, now her turn to cut Amanda off. And they all paused, waiting for a response from Amanda.

"Okay," she said, leaving the curtained area. Sam, Dean and Shia watched her walk over to the cockpit and the co-pilot come out.

After saying whatever she had to him, Amanda and the co-pilot now started walking back towards Sam, Dean and Shia. Pulling back behind the curtain, the trio got ready to perform the on air exorcism, taking out a bottle of holy water and their father's journal. The minute the co-pilot entered the area, Dean punched him, knocking him to the ground and covering his mouth in duct tape. He and Shia then pinned him to the floor as Amanda watched on in horror.

"What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him!" Amanda almost screamed.

"We are gonna talk to him," Dean said as he and Shia tried to keep hold of the wildly thrashing co-pilot. He continued thrashing harder as Sam sprinkled holy water on him, holes burning through his clothes where it hit.

"Oh, my God, what's wrong with him?" Amanda said, beginning to panic at what she was seeing.

"We need you calm,' Sam said, looking up at her. "We need you outside the curtain. Don't let anybody in, okay? Can you do that?" Amanda didn't answer; she just continued to stare at the co-pilot.

"Amanda?" Shia called.

"I don't know! I don't know if I can do that."

"Do you want to die? No? Then I suggest you take your ass, go out there and keep calm! Don't let anyone back here. Now, go!" Shia yelled at Amanda. She was never this rude to people, but at the moment she was sort of irritated.

"Okay. Okay," Amanda said weakly, leaving the area and standing outside the curtain, leaving Sam, Dean and Shia with the possessed co-pilot.

"Hurry up, Sam," Dean said as he and Shia began to have trouble holding down the co-pilot. "I don't know how much longer we can hold him."

Sam began the ritual, reading the Latin from his father's journal. Sensing what was coming, the demon inside the co-pilot began to wrestle harder against Dean and Shia. As the demon became stronger, he knocked the bottle of holy water from Sam's hand before he sent the three flying against the wall. Unfazed, Sam grabbed the journal and continued to read. Without Dean and Shia holding onto him, the co-pilot managed to rip the duct tape from his mouth, grabbing Sam by the front of his shirt.

"I know what happened to your girlfriend!" the demon screamed at Sam, who just stared at him, shocked beyond belief. "She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!"

Pulling herself away from the wall after hearing the demons words, Shia kicked the co-pilot across the side of the face, quieting him before he could say anymore to the already distressed Sam. She and Dean restrained the co-pilot again, but Sam didn't move an inch. He was too lost in his thoughts to think of anything, and Shia could see this.

"Sam!" she screamed at him.

Although under most circumstances, she would have done anything to get him to let out his feelings and make him feel better, now wasn't the time.

Knocked back to reality, Sam picked up the journal and continued to recite the spell in Latin. Once the spell was finished, Sam pushed the journal to one side and helped Dean and Shia hold down the pilot.

"I got him!" Sam called as the co-pilot became to scream and kick out his legs. His legs thrashing, he kicked the journal through the curtain and into the plane.

Screaming louder, the co-pilots mouth flew open and a black mist tunnels out of his mouth and into the air vents of the plane. With the demon out of him, the co-pilot lay motionless on the floor.

"Where'd it go?" Sam called to the others.

"It's in the plane," Dean answered.

"We've got to finish it."

"You might want to hurry up!" Shia stated.

As the three stood to retrieve the journal from the plane, the demon took over and the plane began to plummet. While Sam was jerked head first through the curtain and into the plane, Dean and Shia were thrown against the wall.

In the main area of the plane, the passengers were beginning to panic, strapping themselves tightly into their seats. Through the midst of all the chaos, Sam crawled through the seats and reached for the journal.

"Got it!" he called as his hand closed round it. Kneeling in the middle of the aisle, Sam opened the journal and went on to the second part of the exorcism, screaming in Latin as the plane continued to dive.

Behind the curtain, Dean and Shia tried once again to make their way into the plane but were once against stop as the plane jolted violently. They were again thrown into the wall, Dean screaming as he clung to Shia who had her eyes closed and was simply waited for Sam to come through and for the plane to level out. She also would like it if Dean would stop screaming, her ears were about to bleed.

Inside the seating area, chaos still ensues. Papers and objects are flying everywhere as the passengers continue to scream and duck flying objects. Still screaming in Latin, Sam came to the end of the exorcism as a bolt of electrical white light flew from the plane, dispersing the demon.

With the demon gone, the plane now levelled out and the passengers calmed as the plane began travelling smoothly through the air again. Breathing heavily, Sam stood up as Dean and Shia popped out from behind the curtain, both looking a little shaken. The three exchanged a look, thanking the heavens that the ordeal was finally over.

Back with their car and outside Jerry's airport again, Sam, Dean and Shia stood saying their goodbyes to Jerry.

"Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed," Jerry said, shaking each one of their hands. "Your dad's gonna be real proud."

"We'll see you around, Jerry," Sam said as he turned to walk away.

"You know, Jerry?" Dean said, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yeah?" Jerry said, turning to him.

"I meant to ask you—how did you get my cell phone number, anyway? I've only had it for, like, six months."

"Your dad gave it to me," Jerry answered. That simply answer put the three in shock, turning to Jerry and staring open mouthed at him.

"What?" Sam asked.

"When did you talk to him?" Dean asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number, and his voice message said to give you a call." The three just nodded at Jerry's response, not all that sure of what to say. "Thanks again, guys," Jerry said as he walked away.

Once Jerry was gone, the three left all exchanged a look. Searching for the boy's father, they had just been given their first lead in a long way. A major lead.

Not too long later, Sam, Dean and Shia had parked up just outside the airport and were sat on the trunk of the Impala, Dean dialing their father's number.

"This doesn't make any sense, man," Sam said. "I've called Dad's number, like, fifty times. It's been out of service." Not really paying attention to Sam, Dean put the phone on speaker so the three could listen as their father's voicemail played out.

"This is John Winchester," Their dad's voice rang out. "I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son Dean and his friend Shia, you can reach them at 866-907-3235. They can help."

With the message finished, Dean hung up, all three staring out into space. Near tears, Sam got up and walked back to the car without a word. For so long, they didn't even know if their father was alive. He just had to keep telling himself that at least this was something.

"You know, if his cell phones back in service, maybe we're getting closer," Shia said, trying to be positive. She saw the look in Dean's eyes that she rarely saw.

Only when they were kids. The look that said he really wasn't sure where to go from here.

"Yeah," Dean answered simply, getting up and walking to the car. Shia grabbed Dean's arm causing him to stop.

"You know we're going to find him, right?" Shia said giving Dean a smile. As a response he smiled back at her getting in his car.

A moment later, Shia was the last to slide into the backseat of the car and the they drove off, their car journey quieter than it ever had been as all three were lost in their own thoughts.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ [A/N]

Thank you all for reading this story so far! This was edited to the best of my abilities. People who are rereading might notice the small changes. Anyways, I love you guys.

OC's actors:

Tika Sumpter as Shia Singer

Terrence J as Julius

Idris Elba as Micheal

If you want to imagine the characters in your own way, by all means...do it.


	6. Chapter 6: Bloody Mary (1x05)

I'm warning you now there is smut in this chapter. x

In the car, Sam was being shaken awake by Shia pushing lightly on his shoulders from the back seat.

"Sam wake up," Shia called as Sam slipped back into the land of the living, looking around curiously at his surroundings.

"I take it I was having a nightmare," Sam said simply.

"Yeah, another one," Dean answered.

"Hey, at least I got some sleep," Sam said, trying to joke his way out of actually having to talk about his nightmare. But Dean wasn't having any of it.

"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this," he said defiantly. Sam nodded, but didn't acknowledge his statement properly.

"Are we here?" he asked.

"Yup, welcome to Toledo, Ohio," Dean answered. Sam picked up the newspaper from the dashboard, going over the article they had circled. It was an obituary for Steven Shoemaker.

"So what do you think really happened to him?" Sam asked.

"He took a look at this zit on my forehead," Shia said as covered the zit with her hand. Dean hated when she would get insecure. Does she know she's beautiful?

"You're gorgeous, don't forget that," Dean turning around to give her a kiss. "And to answer your question Sam. No, I don't know what happen to him. That's why were here. Let's go."

Inside the morgue they had been parked outside, Sam, Dean and Shia walked into room 144. Walking past the absent doctor's desk, Dean looked at the name. Dr D. Feiklowicz. Brilliant! Had to pick the doctor with the unpronounceable name! His own girlfriend couldn't pronounce the name.

"Hey," the morgue tech said as they walked up to his desk.

"Hey," Dean replied.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Dean said. "We're the uh... med students."

"Sorry?" the morgue tech said.

"Oh Doctor… Feiklowicz didn't tell you?" Dean said, hopefully managing to get the name right. "We talked to him on the phone. We uh… We're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."

"Well I'm sorry, he's at lunch," the morgue tech said.

"Oh well he said uh… Oh well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind showing us the body do you?"

"Sorry, I can't," the morgue tech answered. "Doc will be back in an hour, you can wait for him if you want."

"An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then," Dean said, looking over at Sam and Shia beside him.

"Yeah," Sam said quietly.

"Uh look man, this paper's like half hour grade, so if you don't mind helping us out," Dean said.

"Oh look man," the morgue tech said mockingly. "No."

"I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear," Dean mumbled as he turned away from the morgue tech. Shia had a great idea, she unbutton her shirt to where the top of her breast was showing, then she pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was in so her hair could cover up that ugly zit.

"Hey," Shia said seductively. The morgue tech looked up at Shia and smiled.

"Hello," he said.

"Uh, you see, I have this paper to write and I really need to get it done soon before it's too late. So, if you don't mind...can you take us back there?" Shia asked leaning forward on his desk giving him a wink.

"I want to take you back there, sweetheart, but I don't know if I can," He said staring at Shia's breast. Dean really wanted to punch that guy in the face. Shia turned around and grabbed Dean's wallet from his pocket and pulled out a couple of twenties, she slammed the money in the desk. The morgue tech gave her a smile.

"Follow me," he said, picking up the money and walking away. Sam went to follow, but Dean grabbed Shia's arm before she could walk away, Dean waved at Sam to go on.

"Shia, I earned that money," Dean said.

"Dean, you won it in a poker game," Shia answered truthfully.

"Yeah," Dean said in a so what manner. Shia shook her and turned to walk away, Dean grabbed her arm again.

"What?!" Shia asked annoyed with Dean a little.

"What the hell was that, huh?" Dean asked motioning towards the desk and her shirt. Shia's face softened and she smiled.

"What? Don't tell me you're jealous? I only did it for this job, Dean," Shia said pulling Dean closer wrapping her arms around his waist. "How many times do I have to tell you that you are my one and only?" Dean gave her a smile and kiss her on the lips leaving her breathless.

"Why don't we go back there before they think we disappeared?" Dean said motioning her to go ahead of him, Shia smiled before turning around.

In the morgue, Sam, Dean, Shia and the morgue tech all stood around the body, covered up for the moment.

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him," Sam said. "She said his eyes were bleeding."

"More than that. They practically liquefied," the morgue tech said as he pulled back the blanket to reveal Steven Shoemaker, who's eyes were now missing.

"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" Dean said, all three of them hiding grimaces. Even though they saw stuff like this every day, it still wasn't too nice to be around.

"Nope," the morgue tech answered. "Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

"What's the official cause of death?" Sam asked.

"Doc's not sure. Massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

"The eyes—what would cause something like that?"

"Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?" Shia said.

"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor."

"Think we could take a look at that police report?" Dean asked. "You know for, uh… our paper."

"I'm not really supposed to show you that," the morgue tech answered with a sly smile.

"Please, it would really help me," Shia said walking towards him, he looked at her with lust and desire. Shia was disgusted but didn't let her face show it.

"Mmmm. I'm really sorry but I can't do it," He said with a smile smile. Shia rolled her eyes and turned around and pulled out her own wallet and took out four twenties and giving it to him. "I'll be right back." He left the room and Shia turned around to the boys with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong," Sam asked her.

"I was going to use that money to get more face cream," Shia pouted. Dean grinned walking towards her and kiss her once again. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Guys, really? In the morgue," Sam said. Dean and Shia burst out in laughter.

Now they had got what they wanted from the morgue tech, as well as him getting quite a bit from them, Sam, Dean and Shia were making their way to the car.

"Might not be one of ours," Sam said. "Might just be some freak medical thing."

"How many times in dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?" Dean said.

"Uh, almost never," Sam answered, thinking about the answer.

"Exactly," Dean said.

"All right, let's go talk to the daughter. I can put my 'We can be BFFs' game face on," Shia said, walking out in front of the boys and putting her back into a ponytail.

Arriving at the daughters, house, Sam, Dean and Shia arrived in the middle of the funeral reception. Pictures of him were scattered over all the counters, and everyone in the room were wearing either suits for the men of black dresses when it came to the women.

"Feel like we're underdressed," Dean mumbled as they walked through the house.

"Yeah, we're underdressed, but we have to walk like we own the place. We are absolutely flawless! Just fabulous," Shia said dramatically. Sam rolled his eyes playfully while Dean grinned. They were lead to group of girls. All of them looked at Sam and Dean like they were meat and the girls were the hungry lion. Shia shifted on her feet uncomfortably, she noticed that one of the girl were staring at her zit.

"You must be Donna right?" Dean said as they stepped up to her.

"Yeah," Donna answered.

"Hi uh—we're really sorry," Sam said with true sympathy.

"Thank you," Donna said with a small smile.

"I'm Sam, this is Dean and his girlfriend Shia. Us two," Sam said, indicating himself and Dean. "We worked with your dad."

"You did?" Donna said skeptically.

"Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke," Dean said.

"I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now," her friend sat beside her, Charlie, said, looking sternly up at Sam, Dean and Shia.

"It's okay. I'm okay," Donna said to her friend.

"Were there any symptoms?" Dean said after a short pause, knowing that Donna was ok with the going on. "Dizziness? Migraines?"

"No," Donna answered.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke," Lily sat from behind Donna, finally turning to the rest of the group.

"Lily, don't say that," Donna said to her little sister.

"What?" Shia asked both Lily and Donna.

"I'm sorry, she's just upset," Donna said.

"No, it happened because of me," Lily said, tears welling up behind her eyes.

"Sweetie, it didn't," her sister told her.

"Lily," Shia said, walking to her and kneeling down to her eye level. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Right before he died, I said it," Lily said almost cryptically.

"You said what, honey?" Shia asked.

"Bloody Mary- Three times in the bathroom mirror," Lily answered, to which Shia looked up to gage Sam and Dean's reactions. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

"That's not why dad died," Donna said. "This isn't your fault."

"I think your sister's right, Lily," Dean said. "There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?"

"No I don't think so," Lily said. Dean smiled down at her, although he made a mental note to look into the theory of Bloody Mary, like he was sure Sam and Shia were.

Now having talked to the daughters, the trio snuck inside the house, and up the stairs. Walking down the same hallway Mr. Shoemaker and his daughter had a couple of nights ago, they made their way to the bathroom. They pushed open the bathroom door, a clear blood stain on the floor.

"The Bloody Mary legend. Damn," Shia said in an almost whisper.

"Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Sam asked.

"Not that I know of," Dean said as he and Shia walked into the bathroom. Sam stayed by the door, stooping to the floor to examine the blood stain

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, no one dies from it," Sam said.

"Yeah well maybe everywhere it's just a story but here it's actually happening," Dean suggested.

"The place where the legend began?" Sam asked. Dean merely shrugged his shoulders.

"But according to the legend, the person who says…." Before going on, Sam looked sideways to the mirror of the medicine cabinet. Shia had just opened it and it was now pointing his way. For fear of what might happen, Sam shut the mirror before continuing."The person who says you know what, gets it. But here…."

"Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah," Shia said.

"Right," Sam said.

"Never heard anything like that before."

"Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror," Dean said. "And the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, 'you know who' scratches your eyes out."

"It's worth checking in to," Shia said. From outside of there bathroom, the three heard the sound of shoes approaching them. Seeing who it was, Sam, Dean and Shia quickly left the bathroom just as Charlie stopped in front of them.

"What are you doing up here?" Charlie asked.

"We… we, had to go to the bathroom," Dean said, clearly the first thing that came to his mind, and earning a glare from Sam and Shia.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked.

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad," Dean said.

"He was a day trader or something, he worked by himself."

"No, I know, I meant…." Dean began to stammer out, just having been caught.

"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."

"Oh please," Shia said rolling her eyes.

"All right, all right," Sam said, taking over before Dean could come up with another ridiculous lie. "We think something happened to Donna's dad."

"Yeah, a stroke," Charlie said matter-of-factly.

"That's not a sign of a typical stroke, honey," Shia said, pointing towards the blood marked floor.

"We think it might be something else," Sam said.

"Like what?" Charlie asked, still with the questions.

"Honestly? We don't know yet," Sam said. "But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth."

"So… If you're gonna scream, go right ahead," Shia told Charlie, who remained quiet.

"Who are you, cops?" she said finally.

"Something like that," Dean said.

"I'll tell you what. Here," Sam said, taking a pen and a small piece of paper from his pocket which he wrote his number on. "If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange, out of the ordinary… just give us a call."

Handing the paper to Charlie, Sam smiled politely before he, Dean and Shia left.

Searching up on Bloody Mary, if that was actually what was haunting this town, Sam, Dean and Shia made their way to the library.

"Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town," Dean said as they walked to the library entrance. "There's gonna be some sort of proof. Like a local woman who died nasty."

"Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard," Shia said as they stepped through the library door. "I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more."

"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?" Dean asked.

"Every version's got a few things in common," Sam said. "It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we've gotta search local newspapers, public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill."

"Well that sounds annoying."

"No it won't be so bad, as long as we…." Shia began, turning to see that all the computers had 'Out of Order' written across them. "I take it back. This will be very annoying."

Sam was having another nightmare. Dean and Shia watched him with concern.

"We should wake him," Shia told Dean.

"Nah, he hasn't had much sleep lately," Dean said. Shia nodded as a response.

Gasping for breath, Sam woke up on his bed in the motel room, Dean and Shia looking up from their research as he woke.

"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" Sam asked simply.

"Cause I'm an awesome brother," Dean answered.

"So what did you dream about?" Shia asked.

"Lollipops and candy canes," was the answer Sam gave.

"Really? Must have been a fucked up candyland," Shia said.

"Did you find anything?" Sam asked, trying to draw the conversation away from his dreams.

"Oh besides a whole new level of frustration?" Shia said as Sam sat up. "No. We've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine committed suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named Dave, which was oddly entertaining to read about , but uh, no Mary."

"Maybe we just haven't found it yet," Sam said, falling back against the bed.

"We've also been searching for strange deaths in the area," Dean said. "You know… eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."

Sam sighed, this investigation going nowhere. Just then, Sam's cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket, answering it.

"Hello?" he said. As the voice on the other end answered, Sam sat up, a look of concern across his features.

The caller had been Charlie. The three had just met up with her at a park. Charlie was sat crying, Shia beside her and Dean sat on the back of the bench while Sam stood over them.

"And they found her on the bathroom floor," Charlie said, continuing to tell them Jill's story. "And her… her eyes. They were gone."

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

"And she said it," Charlie continued, causing Dean and Shia to look up at Sam. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that. I'm insane, right?"

"Trust me, baby girl, you are not insane," Shia said, trying to be comforting.

"Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse," Charlie said as she dropped her head into her hands.

"Look," Sam began, making Charlie look up at him. "We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained."

"And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help," Dean finished.

There first stop was now Jill's bedroom, the newest crime scene. Charlie walked into the room, closing the door behind her and walking over to the window. Sam, Dean and Shia were knelt beside the window, climbing in as Charlie opened it for them. Sam and Shia entered first, Shia catching the duffle bag that Dean threw her way, laying it on the bed and searching through it.

"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Sam asked as Dean climbed in the window.

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things," Charlie answered, watching as Shia pulled something out of the bag and Dean closed the curtains. "I hate lying to her."

"Trust us, this is for the greater good," Dean said. "Hit the lights," he told Charlie, and she switched them all off.

"What are you guys looking for?" she asked as she walked back over to them.

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it," Dean answered. Shia switched on the digital camera she had in her hand, checking the image on the screen.

"Hey, night vision," she said to Dean as she held it out to her. Dean flicked a switch ad the camera went to night vision.

"Thanks, babe, it's perfect," Shia said, the camera now focused on Dean and he knew it.

"Do I look like Paris Hilton?" he asked, striking a pose. Laughing slightly, Shia walked to Jill's closet with the camera. She opened the door and aimed the camera round the edges of the mirror, searching for something only the night vision could see.

"So I don't get it," Sam said. "I mean… the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?"

"Beats me," Dean said as Shia closed the closet and moved to Jill's dresser. "I want to know why Jill said it in the first place," Dean said, pointedly turning to Charlie.

"It's just a joke," Charlie answered.

"Yeah well somebody's gonna say it again, it's just a matter of time," Dean said.

Shia was now in the bathroom, aiming the camera round the edges of the bathroom mirror. She stopped at the bottom when the camera caught something. A trickle of something running down from behind the mirror.

"Hey, babe," Shia called from the bathroom, Dean turned to look her way."There's a black light in the trunk, right?" she asked.

There was, and Dean went to get it while Sam carried the mirror out of the bathroom lying it on the bed in front of Shia as climbed back in the window and threw Shia the black light. Peeling of the brown paper from the back, Shia shone the black light over the back. Under the black light, she found the image of a smudged handprint and a name written beneath it.

"Gary Bryman?" Charlie read off the name.

"You know who that is?" Sam asked.

"No," Charlie answered.

"Well, we have a mystery person I guess," Shia said.

Following up the Gary Bryman link, it had led them to a small house in town. Dean, Shia and Charlie sat outside while Sam went inside.

"So," Sam said, coming out of the house and stopping beside them. "Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy. Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

"Oh my God," Charlie mumbled as she heard the car name.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Jill drove that car," she told them.

"We need to get back to your friend Donna's house," Dean said, new theory's beginning to slip into place.

In the bathroom in the Shoemaker house, the trio had pulled the mirror from the bathroom wall and were now hunched over it while Sam shone the black light across the back. They found the same handprint, and another name written across the bottom.

"Linda Shoemaker. Damn, that bastard murdered his wife," Shia said as she read off the name. Looking further into this, Sam, Dean and Shia went downstairs to Donna and Charlie and asked about Linda Shoemaker.

"Why are you asking me this?" Donna said.

"Look, we're sorry, but it's important," Shia said.

"Yeah. Linda's my mom okay?" Donna said, answering their questions. "She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it. I think you should leave."

"Now Donna, just listen…."

"Get out of my house!" Donna cut in, running up her stairs and not listening at all.

"Oh my God," Charlie said once Donna was gone, turning to the three. "Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?"

"Maybe," Sam answered.

"I think I should stick around," Charlie said.

"All right. Whatever you do, don't…." But Dean didn't need to finish that sentence.

"Believe me, I won't say it," Charlie told them.

Back at the motel, Dean sat at the laptop with Shia beside her, Sam wondering round the room and looking through what they already had.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?" Sam asked.

"Yep," Dean said, his concentration still on the computer screen. "The NCIC, the FBI database. At this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me."

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town," Sam said.

"I'm telling you there's nothing local, we've checked. So unless you got a better idea…." Dean said, trailing off and knowing that he didn't.

"The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern," Sam said.

"I know, I was thinking the same thing," Shia said.

"With mister Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run," Sam said.

"Both had secrets where people died," Dean finished for him.

"Right," Sam said. "I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them."

"Right, right," Shia said, not noticing that the boy beside them seemed to have found something on the computer, his concentration kicking up a notch. "So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not," Sam said.

"Take a look at this," Dean said, letting them know he had fund something. Printing off from the site he had found, Dean printed two pictures. One of a woman lay by a mirror in a pool of blood, and the other of a handprint and the letter 'Tre'.

"Looks like the same handprint," Sam said, comparing it to the pictures they had taken from the mirror's in Jill's and Donna's house.

"Her name was Mary Worthington," Dean told them. "An unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

Finding out what they could on this case from the internet, Sam, Dean and Shia had tracked down the detective who had been on the case, and were now in Fort Wayne, Indiana, grilling the detective about Mary Worthington.

"I was on the job for 35 years," the detective told them. "Detective for most of that. Now everybody packs it in with a few loose ends, but the Mary Worthington murder. That one still gets me."

"What exactly happened?" Dean asked.

"You guys said you were reporters?" the detective said.

"We know Mary was 19, lived by herself," Sam began telling what they had probably thousands of other people who had the internet could easily find out. "We know she won a few local beauty contests, dreamt of getting out of Indiana, being an actress. And we know the night of March 29th someone broke into her apartment and murdered her, cut out her eyes with a knife."

"That's right," the detective said.

"See sir, when we asked you what happened, we wanted to know what you think happened," Dean said. Showing them what he thought happened, the detective led them into another room, pulling out his file on the Mary Worthington case.

"Technically I'm not supposed to have a copy of this," the detective said, opening up the folder to show them the pictures they had already found on the internet.

"Now see that there?" he said, pointing to the picture of the handprint. "T-R-E?"

"Yeah," Dean said.

"I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer."

"You know who it was?" Sam asked.

"Not for sure. But there was a local man, a surgeon. Trevor Sampson," the detective said, pulling out a picture of him. "And I think her cut her up good."

"Now why would he do something like that?" Sam asked.

"Her diary mentioned a man that she was seeing. She called him by his initial, 'T'. Well, her last entry, she was gonna tell 'T' 's wife about their affair."

"Yeah but how do you know it was Sampson who killed her?" Shia asked.

"It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out… it was almost professional."

"But you could never prove it?" Shia said.

"No. No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous."

"Is he still alive?" Dean asked.

"Nope," the detective said, sitting down with a sigh. "If you ask me, Mary spent her last living moments trying to expose this guy's secret. But she never could."

"Where's she buried?" Sam asked.

"She wasn't. She was cremated," the detective said, and the three inwardly sighed in dismay.

"What about that mirror," Dean said, nodding at the picture. "It's not in some evidence lockup somewhere is it?"

"Ah, no. It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago."

"You have the names of her family by any chance?" Shia asked.

Sam, Dean and Shia were now driving away from Fort Wayne and back to Toledo, Shia on the phone ion the front seat of the car.

"Oh really?" she said into the phone. "Ah that's too bad Mr. Worthington. Me and my husband would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." She finished as she hung up the phone.

"So?" Dean asked.

"So that was Mary's brother," Shia told the brothers. "The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A little store in Toledo."

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Dean said.

"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow," Sam stated.

"Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?" Dean asked.

"Yeah there is," Shia answered. "Yeah, when someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped."

"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit," Dean stated more than asked.

"Yeah but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it."

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe," Sam said. Before Dean or Shia could question his 'maybe', Sam's cell phone rang.

"Hello," he said into the phone. As the voice on the other end spoke, the look of concern came over Sam's face again.

"Charlie?"

At the motel where Sam, Dean and Shia were staying, they had Charlie sat on the bed, curled in a ball with her head in her knees. Shia sat beside her, watching as the two boys covered all the windows, mirrors, anything with a reflection. Any mirror they couldn't cover, they turned to the wall.

"Hey, hey it's ok," Shia said to Charlie as the boys finished covering the reflections. "Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It's okay, all right?" Charlie did, slowly, as Sam sat on the bed beside Shia.

"Now listen," Shia continued. "You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you."

"But I can't keep that up forever," Charlie said softly. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

"No. No. Not anytime soon," Sam said comfortingly as Dean sat on the bed the other side of Charlie.

"All right Charlie. We need to know what happened," he said.

"No, we don't. It's her business, we just know someone got hurt", Shia whispered in Dean's ear. Dean gave her a look and ignored her.

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it," Charlie said.

"That's not what we're talking about," Dean said. "Something happened, didn't it? In your life… a secret… where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?" Charlie paused for a minute, looking round at the three in the room with her. Shia rolled her eyes at Dean, she didn't agree with them asking about her personal life.

"I had this boyfriend," Charlie began eventually. "I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said 'Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself.' And you know what I said?" As her memories came flooding out, Charlie's voice began to break as the tears came with it.

"I said 'Go ahead," she continued. "And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just… I didn't believe him, you know? I should have." The tears escape and she dropped her heads into her knees again, sobbing softly.

"Honey, listen to me. That wasn't your fault. Okay? It was his choice," Shia said as she rubbed Charlie's back comforting her.

Leaving Charlie in the reflection free room, Sam, Dean and Shia were now driving down to the store to get rid of Mary.

"You know her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault," Dean said.

"Oh, I know," Shia said. Dean knew she was still pissed about him ignoring her about making Charlie spill her little secret, she didn't see a reason for them to know. Mary was after her and that's they needed to know.

"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean," Sam said, his focus on staring blankly out of the window. "Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."

"I guess," Dean said.

"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror," Sam told them.

"Why, what do you mean?" Shia said, leaning forward in the back seat.

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right?" he told them. "I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it."

"Well how do you know that's going to work?" Shia asked.

"I don't, not for sure," Sam said.

"Well who's gonna summon her?" Shia asked.

"I will. She'll come after me," Sam said blankly.

"You know what, that's it," Dean said as he roughly pulled the car over, causing Shia to be pushed back into her seat again. She mumbled 'Damn it, Dean.'

"This is about Jessica, isn't it?" Dean said once the car had been pulled to a stop. "You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night, it's gonna kill you."

"Listen to me," Shia said, leaning forward again. "It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her."

"Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me?" Dean cut in. "I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."

"I don't blame you," Sam said quickly.

"Well you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done."

"I could've warned her," Sam said, and the edge in his voice told Shia there was more to the story than they knew.

"About what?" Dean said, trying to keep his anger in check. "You didn't know what was gonna happen! And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean we know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No you don't," Sam said quietly.

"We don't what?"

"You guys don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything," Sam said, proving Shia's thoughts right.

"What are you talking about?" Dean said.

"Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam said, and all Dean could do was stare in shock and surprise.

"No," Dean said after a minute. "I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it."

"Dean that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it," Sam told his brother, his voice now adamant. "And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

Dean and Shia having been forced to give in, Sam was now trying to pick the lock outside of the antiques shop. The door successfully opened and the trio walked in only to be confronted with a shop full of antique mirrors.

"Well… that's just great," Shia said. Dean pulled out the picture of Mary's body lying beside the mirror, showing it to Sam and Shia so they knew what they were looking for.

"All right let's start looking," Dean said as they walked off in separate directions, Sam going one way, Shia and Dean the other. What they failed to notice was the small flashing light, signaling they had tripped the silent alarm.

"Maybe they've already sold it," Dean said as their search came up with nothing. While in the other side of the shop, Sam's flashlight came to rest ion the mirror in question.

"I don't think so," Sam called to Dean and Shia. They stepped up behind him, Dean taking out the picture of the mirror to make a comparison.

"That's it," Dean said, sighing heavily at what he knew was coming next.

"You sure about this?" Shia asked. In answer, Sam simply handed her the flashlight and heaved his own sigh before he turned to the mirror.

"Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary," Sam began, glancing over at Dean and Shia before he finished to find them both staring at him with an unsure look. Sam held his crowbar higher before he finished, ready to smash the mirror the minute Mary entered it.

"Bloody Mary," he finished.

Before Mary could appear in the mirror, they were distracted as a light flowed in through the store windows, Dean and Shia turning to it.

"We'll go check that out," Dean said. "Stay here."

"Be careful, Sam. I mean it," Shia said as they walked away. Being careful, Sam held a tighter grip on the crowbar.

"Smash anything that moves," Dean said as he and Shia cautiously rounded the corner. They found the source of the light outside the store. Car headlights.

"Crap," Dean muttered. Thinking that maybe the crowbar in Dean's hand looked a little too guilty, Shia took it from him and slid it down the back of a chest of drawers before she and Dean walked towards the door.

Outside of the shop, Dean and Shia found that the headlights belonged to a police car.

"Hold it," one of the officers now stood in front of Dean and Shia said.

"Whoa guys, false alarm," Shia said, raising her hands in a sign of surrender.

"We tripped the system," Dean finished.

"Who are you?" the officer asked.

"I'm the boss's kid, this is my wife," Dean answered.

"You're Mister Yamashiro's kid?" the officer asked.

Dean and Shia were still trying to explain their presence to the cops.

"Like I said, I was adopted," Dean said.

"Yeah," one cop said as the two cornered Dean and Shia, coming in closely from both sides. Dean looked over at him, who simply shrugged slightly at him, knowing just what he was gonna do.

"You know, we just—we really don't have time for this right now," Dean said. Getting rid of the ops the easy way to them, Dean and Shia went for the cops closest to them. Moving in quick motion, Shia elbowed her cop in the face and kicked his feet from under him, while Dean punched and backhanded his cop, both falling to the floor.

"Not bad," Dean said, looking over at Shia.

"You know me. Never was much for authority figures," Shia said with a smile as she turned back towards the shop, Dean following.

Inside the shop and Sam is still struggling against his reflection.

"You never told her the truth. Who you really were," Sam's reflection said as Sam continued falling closer to the ground.

"But it's more than that, isn't it?" the reflection continued. "Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, burning—You had them for days before she died. Didn't you!? You were so desperate to ignore them, to believe they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die!? You dreamt it would happen!"

Before his reflection could say any more, Dean and Shia came running into the room, Shia smashing the crowbar through Mary's mirror. Sam remained still on the floor, and Shia knelt down beside him, making him look at her.

"Sam, Sammy! Are you alright?!" Shia called to him.

"It's Sam," Sam said weakly. Smiling with relief, Shia pulled Sam forward and kissed his forehead. Pulling back, Shia saw the blood trickling down Sam's eyes.

"God, are you really okay?" she said, the concern back.

"Uh, yeah," Sam said. Smiling at him again, Shia gently touched Sam's cheek as he smiled back at her. Shia put her forehead against his.

Standing a little away from them, Dean watched the two of them together. It was times like this when it really hit him how close his girlfriend and his baby brother were. He had never seen Shia worry about anyone as much as she did for Sam. They were two of a kind those two, always the ones with the information. So much in common. In the little moments of tenderness like this, he could see how much she cared about him.

And he knew Sam cared about her. He knew deep down that if it wasn't for Shia, Sam probably wouldn't have come on the hunt in the first place. When they had first pulled Sam away from college, Shia had gotten a much warmer welcome then he had. And he had expected that. Of all the people, Sam chose to keep in contact with Shia. He knew there was a bond between Sam and Shia he could never break or get into.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Dean moved closer to Sam and Shia.

"Come on, come on," Dean said as he and Shia helped Sam to his feet. Swinging his arms over their shoulders, they began to slowly walk out of the store. But what they didn't see behind them was Mary, crawling out of her frame. As the sound of glass cracking met their ears, the three turned to see Mary walking towards them. All three fell to the floor as blood began trickling from their eyes, Mary now extremely pissed.

Thinking fast, Dean weakly reached across and pulled a Mary in front of them, Mary now forced to look at her own reflection.

"You killed them!" her reflection echoed. "All those people! You killed them!"

Like all her victims before her, Mary began to choke, falling towards the ground. Before she could hit the floor, her body melted away, leaving a pile of blood where she stood. Dean threw the mirror forward, shattering it as it fell.

"Hey guys?" Dean said to the two beside him.

"Yeah?" Sam answered.

"This has got to be like… what? 600 years of bad luck?" Dean said. Sam and Shia chuckled weakly as Shia wiped some of the blood from her face.

The next morning, Sam, Dean and Shia drove Charlie back to her house.

"So this is really over?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, it's over," Dean said with a nod.

"Thank you," Charlie said softly to the three. Dean reached back and shook her hand gently as she stepped out of the car and began walking back to her house.

"Charlie?" Sam called to her, and she turned round."Your boyfriend's death… you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen."

Charlie smiled faintly as she turned back towards her house. Shia pulled forward in the back, leaning against Sam's chair.

"That's good advice," she said softly into his ear. Sam smiled weakly as Shia sat back and Dean drove off.

"Hey Sam?" Dean said once they had been driving for a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Sam answered.

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell us what that secret is," Dean said.

"Look… you guys are my family and I'd die for either you," Sam said truthfully. "But there are some things I need to keep to myself."

Turning away from Dean and Shia, Sam held his attention on the street passing him by through the window. And the first thing that caught his eyes was Jessica, standing on the corner of the street in a white dress. Sam tried to keep his eyes on her, but as they turned the corner, she vanished. Sam continued to stare out of the window, wondering what had just happened. Had he really just seen Jessica, or was it his mind? The thought of his dead girlfriend was all that dominated his mind as they continued to drive.

A couple of hours later the were at a motel, Shia noticed that something was bothering Dean. She wanted a little time with her boyfriend.

"Sam, why don't you talk the impala and go get some supplies for me from the grocery store. Please?" Shia asked as she gave him a list. Sam leaves and Dean comes from out of the bathroom.

"Where did Sam go?" Dean asked walking over to Shia sitting beside her on the bed.

"Oh, I sent him the store for a bit. I just thought we needed sometime together," Shia said seductively. Dean looked at her and leaned in and kissed her on lips. The kiss deepened as she moved closer to him, Dean hands was roaming her body. She took his shirt off and start to kiss his neck. Moments later all of their clothing were gone, Dean laid her on the bed. He showered her face with kisses.

"Dean, I love you," Shia said breathlessly. Dean smiled at her. He kissed her as he moved inside her gently. The room was filled with moans from them both as they both reached their climax. When they were finished they cuddled together closely on the bed.

"We should get dress before Sam gets back," Dean said grabbing his shirt.

"Yeah, we should," Shia said heading to the bathroom. Dean smiled as he watched her leave. She was so beautiful.


	7. Chapter 7: Hook Man (1x07)

At an outdoor café, Dean and Shia are sat at the table with coffee's and the open laptop, waiting for Sam, who was on a nearby payphone.

"Wait, so, you mean to tell me that when I was with Bobby helping him with a job, you guys went to St. Louis and ran into a shape shifter...then it turned into you and now the cops are blaming you for all the murders?" Shia asked trying to process this story in.

"Yeah, when you put it that way...," Dean said to Shia taking a sip out if his drink.

"Hmm, that's pretty badass. I always had a soft spot for bad boys," Shia said as she put her hand on Dean's thigh. Dean looked down to where her hand were.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Dean asked with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Depends, would you want to be seduced?" Shia whispered in Dean's ear.

"Okay, we will be getting out own room the next time we stay at a motel," Dean said sending Shia a wink, which made her giggle.

"Alright, thank you for your time," Sam said as he hung up and headed back to the table.

"Your, uh, half-caf, double vanilla latte is gettin' cold over here, Francis," Dean said as he approached, looking over Shia's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Bite me," Sam said, taking a seat.

"So, anything?" Dean asked, referring to the phone call Sam had just made. Sam shook his head in answer.

"I had 'em check the FBI's Missing Persons Data Bank. No John Doe's fitting Dad's description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations."

"Sam, I'm tellin' ya, I don't think Dad wants to be found," Dean said. Sam said nothing, just gave him a disappointed look.

"Check this out," Shia said, changing the subject and turning the laptop to Sam. It showed the article on Rich's death.

"It's a news item out of Planes Courier," she said. "Ankeny, Iowa. It's only about a hundred miles from here."

" 'The mutilated body was found near the victim's car, parked on 9 Mile Road,' " Sam read from the article.

"Keep reading," Shia urged on. And he did.

" 'Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.' "

"Could be something interesting," Shia said once he finished.

"Or it could be nothing at all," Sam said. "One freaked out witness who didn't see anything? Doesn't mean it's the Invisible Man."

"But what if it is? Dad would check it out," Dean finished, giving Sam a look saying he knew he was right himself.

Taking on the case, Sam, Dean and Shia drove to the fraternity where Rich had lived. Sam and Dean got out of the car, not paying attention to the fact that Shia was prepping herself up by putting on lipstick, and pushing her bra up to make her boobs look bigger.

"One more time, why are we here?" Sam asked.

"Victim lived here," Dean said simply, turning to his girlfriend to find she wasn't beside him instead she was looking at herself in a small mirror liking what she sees.

"Oh, would you come on," Dean said, turning to his girlfriend.

"I'm liking this style, babe. I should wear things like this more often, don't you think?" Shia said as she walked over to her boyfriend. Dean simply smiled at her.

"You can wear things like this in the bedroom, I wouldn't mind undressing you," Dean replied, Sam cleared his throat.

"Guys, again, enough with the extreme flirting. I would like to keep my food down," Sam said as Shia and Dean laughed a bit. They all turned to walk away until Shia stopped them.

"Wait, are you sure this outfit doesn't make me look fat?" Shia asked nervously. For a moment Dean thought she wouldn't be insecure about her outfit, but he was wrong. She was showing a lot of brown skin in the low cut top and mini skirt she was wearing. She stood in front of Dean, turning around so they could get a good look. Dean simply smiled, definitely liking what he was seeing.

"You look fine, baby," Dean said making Shia smile, taking her round the waist, Dean walked Shia up towards the dorm, Sam following them.

"Nice wheels," Dean said as they stopped in front of a group guys who were working on a car. They all turned to the trio, looking at them strangely.

"We're your fraternity brothers," Dean continued. "From Ohio. We're new in town. Transfers. Looking for a place to stay."

He grinned widely as he watched the guys give Shia the once over. She smiled sweetly. She was the type of girl who marveled over guys looking at her like this. Looking like this was the only way she was getting in as well, and she had no problems with that.

The boys, and Shia, were showed into the fraternity house and their new dorm room. There they found a shirtless frat boy in yellow shorts who was painting his body purple. With a strange look on their faces, they knocked on the door, catching the boy's attention.

"Who are you?" he asked as he turned to them.

"We're your new roommates," Dean answered, striding into the room with Shia at his side.

"Who's the babe?" he said smiling towards Shia.

"My girlfriend," Dean stated, taking this on board, the boy held the paint tin and brush out to Dean.

"Do me a favor?" he asked. "Get my back. Big game today."

"He's the artist," Dean said, pointing to Sam. "Things he can do with a brush."

With a mortified look on his face, Sam took the brush and can from the boy. Smiling, Dean flopped into a chair, tugging Shia onto his lap and picking up a magazine.

"So… Murph," Dean said, looking at the name on the magazine. "Is it true?"

"What?" he asked.

"We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week," Dean said.

"Yeah," Murph said, his voice dropping slightly.

"What happened?" Sam asked, speaking up for the first time.

"They're saying some psycho with a knife," he answered. "Maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy."

"Rich he was with somebody?" Sam asked.

"Not just somebody. Lori Sorensen."

"Who's Lori Sorensen?" Dean asked before turning to Sam. "You missed a spot. Just down there. On the back."

Sam just glared at him, an annoyed look on his face, while Dean and Shia grinned, Shia trying to hold back laughter.

Lori's a freshman," Murph said in answer to Dean's earlier question. "She's a local. Super hot. And get this: she's a reverend's daughter."

"You wouldn't happen to know which church, would ya?" Dean asked.

Murph did in fact know what church. And right now, the service for Rich was in full flow.

"Our hearts go out to the family of a young man who perished," Lori's father, Reverend Sorensen was saying. "And my personal prayers of thanks go out as well because I believe he died trying to protect my daughter."

He turned to his daughter with a small smile. She just lowered her eyes, embarrassed.

"And now," he continued. "As time heals all our wounds, we should reflect on what this tragedy means. To us, as a church."

During his sermon, Sam, Dean and Shia, now back in her normal clothes, walked into the church. The door slammed behind Sam, the last of the three to walk in. the whole congregation, including Dean and Shia, went silent and turned to him.

"As a community, and as a family," the reverend continued, bringing the congregations attention back to him. "The loss of a young person is particularly tragic. A life unlived is the saddest of passings."

Sam, Dean and Shia took a seat at the back of the church, now being as quiet as possible. As they sat, Lori turned to them, and Sam smiled weakly at her.

"So, please, let us pray," Reverend Sorensen said. "For peace, for guidance, and for the power to protect our children."

The whole church bowed their heads in prayer, even Sam and Shia. All but Dean. Noticing this, Shia elbowed him in the side, motioning round the room. Seeing he was the only one still with his head up, Dean too bowed his head.

Once the mass had ended, the church populace made their way outside, chatting away in small groups. Lori and Taylor were part of this crowd, making their way out of the church.

"I can't," Lori said to her friend. "It's Sunday night."

"It's just us girls," Taylor told her. "We're gonna do tequila shots and watch Reality Bites."

"My dad makes dinner every Sunday night," Lori said.

"Come on, Lori. I know this has been hard, but you are allowed to have fun."

"I'll try." Was Lori's answer, to which Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Ok," Taylor said, pulling her friend into a hug. She backed away, mouthing the words 'You Better' as she left. Sam, Dean and Shia took her place, stepping g up beside her.

"Are you Lori?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Lori said as she turned to them.

"My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean, and his girlfriend Shia."

"Hi," Dean and Shia said together, waving slightly.

"We just transferred here to the university," Sam continued.

"I saw you inside," Lori said matter-of-factly.

"We don't wanna bother you," Sam said. "We just heard about what happened and..."

"We wanted to say how sorry we were," Dean finished.

"I kind of know what you're going through," Sam told her. "I… I saw someone… get hurt once. It's something you don't forget." Lori nodded slightly as her father walked up to them.

"Dad," Lori said, turning to him. "Um, this is Sam, Dean and Shia. They're new students."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Dean said as he shook the reverends hand. "I must say, that was an inspiring sermon."

"Thank you very much," the reverend said. "It's so nice to find young people who are open to the Lord's message." Dean chuckled slightly as Shia stepped forward with Dean's hand in hers.

"Um, me and boyfriend recently got engaged and we're looking for a church to have the wedding in," Shia said as she and Dean led the reverend away. "And we were hoping in you could help us out."

They moved the reverend away from his daughter, leaving Sam and Lori to talk in private.

"Tell me, Lori. What are the police saying?" Sam asked as they began walking in the opposite direction.

"Well, they don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that," Lori said.

"What do you mean?"

"My story. I was so scared, I guess I was 'seeing things'," Lori said as they stopped walking.

"That doesn't mean it wasn't real," Sam said as the two held each other's gaze for a few seconds.

With what little they knew, the three made their way to the library, walking through the stacks.

"So you believe her?" Dean asked.

"I do," Sam said.

"Yeah, I think she's hot, too," Dean said off-handedly, earning himself a smack across the back of the head.

"Do you want a girlfriend?" Shia asked crossing her arms.

"I have a girlfriend," Dean said confusingly.

"Not if you keep talking like that," Shia said turning away from him. Dean wrapped his arms around hugging her from behind giving her soft kisses on the neck.

"No, man, there's something in her eyes," Sam said ignoring the conversation between Dean and Shia. "And listen to this: she heard scratching on the roof. Found the bloody body suspended upside down over the car."

"Wait, the body suspended?" Shia said, clicking on to what Sam was getting at. "That sounds like the…."

"Yeah, I know, the Hook Man legend," Sam said, filling in the blanks.

"That's one of the most famous urban legends ever," Shia said. "You don't think that we're dealing with the Hook Man."

"Every urban legend has a source. A place where it all began."

"Yeah, but what about the phantom scratches and the tire punctures and the invisible killer?" Dean said, for once being the level-headed one.

"Well, maybe the Hook Man isn't a man at all," Sam said. "What if it's some kind of spirit?"

Now sat at a table in the back of the library, Sam, Dean and Shia sat back while a librarian placed boxes in front of them.

"Here you go. Arrest records going back to 1851," she told them as Dean blew dust from the box, coughing as it came back in his face.

"Thanks," Shia said to the woman with a friendly smile.

"Ok," she said as she walked away.

"Oh my God, Dean, I want her shoes," Shia whined motioning towards the librarian's shoes.

"I'll take you to a store later," Dean said before giving her a quick kiss.

"Thank you," she said smiling at him. Dean turned to Sam.

"So, this is how you spent four good years of your life, huh?" Dean said.

"Welcome to higher education," Sam said as he opened one of the boxes. Dean and Shia followed suit with the other box, the three now reading through the contents of them. Hours later, and they were still there, a very bored Dean and Shia almost falling asleep.

"Hey, check this out," Sam said, knocking Dean and Shia back to reality. "1862. A preacher named Jacob Karns was arrested for murder. Looks like he was so angry over the red light district in town that one night he killed 13 prostitutes. Uh, right here, 'some of the deceased were found in their bed, sheets soaked with blood. Others suspended upside down from the limbs of trees as a warning against sins of the flesh.' "

"Sick bastard," Shia said.

"Get this, the murder weapon?" Dean said, turning to another page. "Looks like the preacher lost his hand in an accident. Had it replaced with a silver hook."

"Look where all this happened," Shia said, pointing to another page.

"9 Mile Road," Dean read.

"Same place where the frat boy was killed," Sam said.

"Nice job, Dr. Venkmen. Let's check it out," Dean said, slapping Sam on the back as he gathered the research and the three left.

Up at 9 Mile Road, Sam, Dean and Shia had just pulled up and were rummaging round in the trunk.

"Here you go," Dean said, handing Sam a rifle.

"If it is a spirit, buckshot won't do much good," Sam said.

"Yeah, rock salt," Dean said, handing the rounds to him.

"Huh. Salt being a spirit deterrent."

"Yeah," Dean said, taking out a coil of rope and closing the trunk. "It won't kill 'em. But it'll slow 'em down."

"That's pretty good," Sam said as they walked towards the trees. "You guys and Dad think of this?"

"No, Shia did, but you don't have to be a college graduate to be a genius," Dean said. They were stopped in their tracks as they heard a noise in the trees in front of them. Sam instinctively rose the shotgun, fanning around for the location of the sound.

"Over there. Over there," Shia said, pointing towards the trees. Sam cocked the gun and aimed in that direction, watching as a figure walked towards them.

"Put the gun down now!" the figure yelled, who appeared to be the sheriff with his own gun. "Now! Put your hands behind your head."

"W-w-wait, okay, okay!" Dean called out.

"Now get down on your knees. Come on, do it! On your knees!" The three obliged, getting on their knees as Sam dropped the shotgun. "Now get down on your bellies. Come on, do it!"

"He had the gun!" Dean moaned out as they did, lying on their stomachs.

Up at the sheriff's department, Sam, Dean and Shia are finally leaving after spending the night trying to get Sam off the hook.

"Saved your ass!" Dean exclaimed as they walked out. "Talked the sheriff down to a fine. Dude, I am Matlock."

"But how?" Sam asked.

"We told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you."

"What about the shotgun?"

"We said that you were hunting ghosts and the spirits were repelled by rock salt," Shia filled in. "You know, typical Hell Week prank."

"And he believed you?" Sam said.

"Well, you look like a dumbass pledge," Dean said blatantly as they walked up to the car. Just then, the officers who they had spent the night persuading ran from the building, into their cards and sped away. Sam, Dean and Shia exchanged a look. Most definitely something bigger going on.

And the big event was that at Lori's sorority. Police and ambulance were parked everywhere, and the impala joined them as it drove by. The occupants watched Lori as she sat in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket, before driving off round the building.

Also watching his daughter, Reverend Sorensen was stood talking to the sheriff.

"I just want to take her home," he said almost pleadingly.

"I understand that, Reverend," the sheriff told him. "But Lori's now connected to two murders, and I can't ignore that."

"Listen to me. Arrest her now, or let me take her home." The sheriff thought about this for a minute, turning to Lori.

"Make sure she's available for questioning," the sheriff said eventually.

"Thank you," she said, walking over to his daughter. "Sweetheart, you ready to go home?"

Without a word, Lori stood up and let her father guide her away. Round the back of the building, Sam, Dean and Shia parked up on the street and made their way to the back of the sorority.

"Why would the Hook Man come here?" Sam said. "This is a long way from 9 Mile Road."

"Maybe he's not haunting the scene of his crime," Dean suggested. "Maybe it's about something else."

While they were talking, a pair of sorority girls came out of the building, intrigued by the commotion outside. Sam, Dean and Shia lean up against the side of the building, hiding amongst some bushes to avoid being seen.

"Dude, sorority girls!" Dean said almost playfully. "Think we'll see a naked pillow fight?"

Shia thumped Dean on the arm, bringing his attention to Sam trying to climb onto the balcony. Dean helped him up, then Shia, then joined them himself. They crept over to Lori's window, climbing through in the same order. Dean ungracefully fell through the window, landing equally ungracefully on top of his girlfriend.

"Oh, sorry!" Dean muttered. Shia got up without saying a word.

"Be quiet," Sam hissed at him.

"Me be quiet? You be quiet!" Dean retorted.

"Both of you be quiet!" Shia hissed back at both of them. They were now in Lori's walk-in closet. Sam opened up the door and watched as the sheriff leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Only then did Sam, Dean and Shia step into the room, seeing the blood, the police tape, and the writing on the wall.

" 'Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?' " Sam said, reading off the wall. "That's right out of the legend."

"Yeah, that's classic Hook Man all right. It's definitely a spirit," he said, tapping the end of his noise to indicate the smell around them that the police hadn't picked up on as more than the normal smell of a dead body.

"Yeah, I've never smelled ozone this strong before," Shia said, agreeing with him as he moved to the window.

"Hey, come here," Sam said, his eyes still on the wall. Dean walked over to stand beside him and Shia.

"Does that look familiar to you?" he asked, indicating the cross symbol below the writing.

Dean and Shia did in fact recognize the symbol. They figured where from as they sat on the hood of the car, going over the research they already had on Reverend Jacob Karns.

"It's the same symbol," Sam said, pointing to the symbol of the cross that was etched into the hook the reverend had for a hand. "Seems like it is the spirit of Jacob Karns."

"All right, let's find the dude's grave, salt and burn the bones, and put him down," Dean said as Sam read over the research.

" 'After execution, Jacob Karns was laid to rest in an Old North Cemetery. In an unmarked grave,' " Sam read off to them, the information clearly annoying his brother and best friend as much as it was him.

"Super," Shia said sarcastically, thinking just how long it was actually gonna take them to get this seemingly simple job finished.

"Ok. So we know it's Jacob Karns," Sam said. "But we still don't know where he'll manifest next. Or why."

"I'll take a wild guess about why," Dean said as the three moved to get back into the car. I think your little friend Lori has something to do with this."

Looking for new information, Sam picked possible the worst place to bring Dean. A college party. While Sam stood in the middle of the room, the goings on around him not of any matter to him, Dean and Shia walked towards him, Dean with a look on his face like Christmas had come early.

"Hey," Sam said as they stopped in front of him.

"Man, you've been holding out on me," Dean said, his excitement showing in his voice. "This college thing is awesome!" He winked and smiled slyly at a passing girl. He tensed slightly, expected the usual smack from Shia. Instead she glared at him, and the look told him that he was in trouble later.

"This wasn't really my experience," Sam told him.

"Let me guess. Libraries, studying, straight A's?" Dean said. Sam just nodded. "What a geek. Alright, you do your homework?"

"Just because he stayed focus on school work doesn't make him geek, I would totally date geek. That way I wouldn't worry about jerky jocks who flirt with almost every girl," Shia said looking at Dean. Yeah, she was upset with him.

"Babe, that was noth-," Dean started to say.

"I don't want to hear it," Shia said looking away from him. Dean knew he had to make it up to her soon or she'll be angry all week.

"Yeah," Sam said, finally getting excited about something. "It was bugging me, right? So how is the Hook Man tied up with Lori? So I think I came up with something."

He unravelled a large and very old looking piece of paper, showing it to Dean and Shia.

"1932. Clergyman arrested for murder," Dean read off. "1967. Seminarian held in hippie rampage."

"There's a pattern here," Sam said. "In both cases, the suspect was a man of religion who openly preached against immorality. And then found himself wanted for killings he claimed were the work of an invisible force. Killings carried out, get this, with a sharp instrument."

"What's the connection to Lori?" Dean asked.

"A man of religion? Who openly preaches against immorality?" Sam told them, making it seem like it was obvious. And what Sam really was getting at hit them before he continued. "Except maybe this time, instead of saving the whole town, he's just trying to save his only daughter."

"Reverend Sorensen," Dean filled in the blanks. "You think he's summoning the spirit?"

"Maybe," Sam said.

"Or you know how a poltergeist can haunt a person instead of a place?" Shia reminded them.

"Yeah," Dean said. "The spirit latches onto the reverend's repressed emotions, feeds off them, yeah, okay."

"Without the reverend ever even knowing it," Shia finished.

"Either way, you two should keep an eye on Lori tonight," Dean told Sam.

"What about you?" Sam asked with a nod. Dean attention was momentarily caught by an attractive blonde girl smiling at him from beside the pool table.

"I'm gonna go see if we can find that unmarked grave. You think you two gonna be alright," Dean said. Just then a very attractive guy walk past Shia.

"Hey," the guy said sending Shia a wink. Dean noticed that Shia was blushing, he stood beside Shia and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Hey," Dean answered for Shia, she giggle at Dean being randomly protective. "On second thought, Sammy, why don't you stay here and keep an eye on Lori?" Sam nodded as Dean dragged Shia with him.

Despite her almost desperate want to stay at that party, Shia was now searching through the graveyard with Dean, the only light the flashlight beam in front of them. The silence of the night was suddenly disturbed as a twig broke behind them. Jumping round, Shia gripped onto Dean's arm. Dean laughed slightly at the hunter beside him who had the spooks so suddenly.

"All the things we've seen and you're still scared of a cemetery," Dean said to her.

"Just shut up and let's find this thing quickly, I want to go back to the party and flirt with that hot guy. You know, since apparently this relationship isn't monogamous," Shia snapped out at him. They stopped walking for a second and Dean turned to her.

"Babe, I'm sorry," Dean said looking down at Shia.

"That's the problem. You're always sorry. You always look and flirt with other girls like I'm not in front of you, and I'm sick of it! I'm serious when I say if you keep this up then you really won't have a girlfriend anymore," Shia said breaking at the end of her last sentence. Dean looked at her and saw all the hurt and pain he's been causing her, she looked at the ground. Dean lifted her chin up with his fingers wanting her to look at him.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I hate when you're mad at me. The whole flirting thing comes natural for me and I'm sorry. I'm not good at this whole relationship thing, but I'm trying. If we weren't together, I don't know what I'd do," Dean said giving her a soft kiss on her lips.

"Okay. Enough with the chick flick moment. Let's go find the body," Shia said giving him a small smile.

They did just that, walking through the headstones. Despite trying to put on a brave front, Shia still had a vice like grip on Dean's arm. The flashlights beam finally fell across a gravestone with the familiar cross pattern engraved into it.

"Here we go," Dean said as they walked towards it.

Back at the graveyard, the reverends grave had almost been dug up, thanks to Dean. Shia knelt beside the open grave, watching but not helping.

"That's it," Dean said, breathless and his t-shirt sticking to him. "Next time, I get to watch the cute girl's house." This earned him a light tap across the head with Shia foot, drawing his attention to her.

"What did we just talk about?" Shia asked with her arms crossed.

"You know, this would go a lot quicker if you helped," Dean said.

"I'm the girl of the group remember, and I got my nails done for this job...I wouldn't want to get them dirty," Shia said, smiling at the guy who was glaring at her. "Besides digging graves is a mans job." Shia heard Dean mumble the word 'Bitch', so she kicked some of the dirt back in the grave. Dean sent her a dirty look.

"Ah, my bad," Shia said. Dean rolled his eyes and continued digging.

"Hello, preacher," Dean said, throwing his shovel aside, and Shia could swear he aimed at her.

The next morning, Sam stood outside a hospital room, watching through the window as Lori stood beside her father's bed. The sheriff stood beside him, questioning on the events of last night.

"We were just talking," Sam said. "Then Lori's dad came out. And then he appeared."

"A big man?" the sheriff said. "Carrying a weapon, some kind of hook?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ever seen him before?"

"No, sir."

"Son, it seems every time I turn around, I'm seeing you. I suggest you try to stay out of trouble."

"Yes, sir," Sam said with a nod. His attention was drawn by his brother voice as he saw him and Shia trying to get past two officers.

"No, it's alright, we're with him. He's my brother," Dean was telling the officers before turning to Sam. "Hey! Brother!" He and Shia smiled and waved brightly to Sam.

"Let them through," the sheriff said and the officers stepped aside, letting them passed.

"Thanks," Dean said in the politest tone he could as the sheriff walked away and they made their way to Sam. Shia rushed forward, hugging him fiercely.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied as he laced his own arms round her waist hugging her back.

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked.

"Hook Man," Sam said simply as he pulled away from Shia.

"You saw him?" Dean said.

"Damn right. Why didn't you torch the bones?"

"What are you talking about, we did," Shia said. "You sure it's the spirit of Jacob Karns?"

"It sure as hell looked like him. And that's not all. I don't think the spirit is latching on to the reverend."

"Well, yeah, the guy wouldn't send the Hook Man after himself," Dean said.

"I think it's latching onto Lori," Sam told the two confused looking people in front of him. "Last night she found out her father is having an affair with a married woman."

"So what?" Dean said.

"So she's upset about it. She's upset about the immorality of it," Sam said, trying to make them understand his point. "She told me she was raised to believe that if you do something wrong, you get punished."

"Ok, so she's conflicted," Dean said. "And the spirit of Preacher Karns is latching on to repress the emotions and maybe he's doing the punishing for her, huh?"

"Right. Rich comes on too strong, Taylor tries to make her into a party girl, Dad has an affair."

"Remind me not to piss this girl off," Shia said in all honesty.

"But we burned those bones, we buried them in salt," Dean said. "Why didn't that stop him?"

"You must have missed something."

"No," Shia said. "We burned everything in that coffin."

"Did you get the hook?"

"The hook?" Dean said, the confusion in his voice matching that on Shia's face.

"Well, it was the murder weapon, and in a way, it was part of him."

"So, like the bones, the hook is a source of his power," Dean said.

"So if we find the hook..." Sam began.

"We stop the Hook Man," the three finished together with a smile.

Back at the library, the trio were no looking for where the hook might be, not the preacher.

"Here's something, I think," Dean said. "Log book, Iowa State Penitentiary. Karns, Jacob. Personal affects: disposition thereof."

"Does it mention the hook?" Sam said.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said as he continued to read. "Upon execution, all earthly items shall be remanded to the prisoner's house of worship, St. Barnabas Church."

"Isn't that where Lori's father preaches?" Shia said.

"Yeah," Dean answered.

"Where Lori lives?" Sam said.

"Maybe that's why the Hook Man has been haunting reverends and reverends' daughters for the past 200 years," Dean said.

"Yeah, but if the hook were at the church or Lori's house, don't you think someone might've seen it?" Sam said. "I mean, a bloodstained, silver-handled hook?"

"Check the church records," Shia suggested. And that's what they did. It was of an hour before Shia came up with the answer.

"St. Barnabas donations, 1862," Shia read off. "Received silver-handled hook from state penitentiary. Reforged." With a heavy sigh, she closed the book.

"They melted it down. Made it into something else." And they were now no closer to finishing this.

Taking their chances, the three had parked up outside the church, stood beside Impala.

"Alright, we can't take any chances," Dean said. "Anything silver goes in the fire."

"I agree," Sam said. "So, Lori's still at the hospital. We'll have to break in."

"Alright, take your pick," Shia said, motioning towards the church and the house.

"I'll take the house," Sam said.

"Ok," Dean said, watching as Sam walked away. "Hey," he said, making Sam turn again.

"Stay out of her underwear drawer," he said, which only earned him a glare before he turned to walk away again. Shia giggled at Dean's comment.

In the church basement, Dean and Shia stood throwing all the silver items they had found into the fire. They turned to the sound of footfalls as Sam came running down the stairs with a bag.

"I got everything that even looked silver," Sam said.

"Better safe than sorry," Shia said as they began throwing the new stuff on the fire. The sound of footfalls met their ears again, but this time everyone they thought was in the church was down here.

"Move, move," Dean said as he motioned Sam and Shia up the stairs, him following with his gun drawn. Upstairs, pushing the door open cautiously, they found the new occupant was Lori, sat crying alone in a pew, crying.

Putting the gun away, Dean motioned for Sam to go over to her while he and Shia went back into the basement. Sam moved quietly into the main church, stepping up beside her.

"Lori?" he said softly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she turned to him.

"What is it?" Sam asked, ignoring her question and kneeling beside her.

"I've been trying to understand what's been happening," Lori told him. "Why? Now I know so I'm praying for forgiveness."

"Forgiveness for what?"

"Don't you see? I'm to blame for all this. I've read in the Bible about avenging angels."

"Trust me, this guy—he's no angel," Sam said, trying to comfort her.

"I was so angry at my father," Lori said, ignoring his comment. "Part of me wanted him punished. And then he came and he punished him."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. I don't know how, but it is. I killed Rich. Taylor, too. I nearly killed my father."

"Lori..."

"I can see it now," she cut in. "They didn't deserve to be punished. I do."

At her final statement, Sam's attention was drawn to a noise from the back of the church. He watched as the candles extinguished, a slow breeze blowing through them.

"Come on. We gotta go," Sam said, bringing her to her feet. He led her towards the basement door but before he could open it, the hook man's hook came crashing through the wood, inches away from their heads.

"Go!" Sam screamed, running down the aisle with Lori close behind him. They ran into the back room, the hook man close behind them, smashing through the glass on the door Sam had just closed. Standing protectively in front of Lori, Sam let the hook man swing at him a couple of times, dodging each swing. But as he turned to run, his attention on Lori, the hook man swung again, this time catching Sam across the shoulder. He screamed out in pain, unable to do anything as an invisible force pulled Lori back across the floor.

"Come on. You okay?" Sam called out as he ran t Lori, stopping beside her. Before he could help her to her feet, the hook man appeared and knocked Sam backwards. Getting to his feet, Sam pulled himself up behind the hook man. Before he could attack, Dean and Shia ran round the corner, Dean with his gun drawn.

"Sam, drop!" Dean yelled. Sam did, crouching to the ground as Dean shot the hook man, watching as he disappeared.

"I thought we got all the silver," Sam yelled from his position beside Lori.

"So did I," Shia yelled back.

"Then why is he still here?"

"Well, maybe we missed something!" Dean yelled. It was then that Sam turned to Lori, noticing the silver cross necklace round her neck.

"Lori, where did you get that chain?" Sam asked.

"My father gave it to me," she answered.

"Where'd your dad get it?" Dean asked.

"He said it was a church heirloom, he gave it to me when I started school."

"Is it silver?!" Sam asked the pivotal question.

"Yes!" Lori called back to him. At her answer, Sam ripped the chain from her neck. The hook man decided to make himself known again then, a long scratch mark being drawn down the wall by an invisible someone as Dean and Shia turned to watch it getting closer.

"Sam!" Shia called as she turned back round, motioning for Sam to throw her the necklace. He did as Dean threw him the rifle and rock salt. While Sam shot at his invisible target, Dean and Shia ran to the basement to throw the last silver object onto the fire.

Sam tried to reload the gun against his wounded shoulder but was stopped in his attempts as the hook man knocked the rifle from his hand. With nothing else to do but wait for his brother and best friend to come through, Sam and Lori crawled away from their attacker, backing against the wall as he towered over them.

As the necklace began to melt in the furnace below, the hook man stopped, his hook raised in the air. The first thing to melt away was his hook, the rest of his body burning into nothing. As the hook man disappeared for good, Dean and Shia run into the room. The trio share a knowing look. At last, this was over.

Daylight breaking, police cars and ambulances were now parked outside the church, the sheriff taking Dean and Shia's statement.

"And you saw him, too? The man with the hook?" the sheriff asked.

"Yes, I told you, we all saw him," Dean said. "We fought him off and then he ran."

"And that's all?" the sheriff asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, that's all," Shia said.

"Listen. You two and your brother…."

"Oh, don't worry, we're leaving town," Dean said, cutting off the guys sentence before he could say the inevitable. They walked to the car, waiting for Sam who was at the ambulance, getting his arm bandaged up with Lori watching over him.

"You gonna be okay?" Lori asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered, standing up.

"I still don't know what happened," Lori said. "But I do know you saved my life. My father's, too. Thank you."

All Sam gave was a simple nod and a smile as he turned to leave, heading back to the car where Dean was watching him through the mirror. Leaning forward from the back seat, Shia prodded Dean lightly in the back of the head.

"Stop it," she said. One look at her face and Dean knew what she meant. It wasn't the watching, but the interfering into his baby brother's life. With a sigh, Dean faced the front as Sam climbed into the car.

"We could stay," Dean said, knowing, despite Shia's warnings, the only way his brother would do anything would be with his interfering. But all Sam did was shake his head. Watching Lori through the mirror, Dean could clearly saw the disappointed look on his face. Shaking his own head in disappointment, Dean drove away, leaving the latest link in their chain behind, and ready to make a new one as they drove to their next destination.

About eight hours later, the trio stopped at a motel. Dean ordered a room for him and Shia leaving Sam a room for himself. Shia put her bag on the floor as she got herself ready for bed.

"So, we're not going to talk about this," Dean asked walking toward Shia.

"Talk about what?" Shia asked looking at Dean.

"You know...us...why we're always fighting about the same things," Dean said as he sat down on the bed.

"There's nothing to talk about Dean."

"Yes, there is! I can't just sit here knowing that you're hurting. What can I do to make you believe how much I care about you. I don't hurt you intentionally, I never mean to hurt you," Dean said as he looked her in the eyes. Shia smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Dean deepen the kiss by pulling her closer, Shia took the opportunity to lay him on the bed so she could straddle his waist putting her on the top position. Long story short, the spent the whole night expressing how much the care about each other.


	8. Chapter 8: Bugs (1x08)

At a tavern somewhere outside of Oklahoma, Sam lay against the hood of the Impala, reading a newspaper as he waited for his brother and friend. They had been in there for ages now, getting money their way, while Sam opted to wait outside. And that had paid off. The article he was reading now had the headline 'Local Death A Medical Mystery'.

The sound of laughter catching his ears, Sam looked up to see Dean and Shia walking out of the tavern, Dean counting a wad of cash.

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while," Sam said, sitting up.

"Hunting's our day job," Dean said with a smile.

"And the pay is crap," Shia finished for him as he counted the money in his hand.

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams?" Sam said, clearly disapproving of how the pair in front of him chose to get their income. "Not the most honest thing in the world, guys."

"Well, lets see. Honest... Fun and easy," Dean said, holding his hands out either side of him. Mimicking weighing scales, his weight and his mind went towards the hand with the money and the easy option. "It's no contest. Beside, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."

"Well, how we were raised was jacked," Sam said.

"Yeah, says you," Dean replied, counting the money in his hands. "We got a new gig or what?" Sam jumps off the car as Dean nods to the paper in his hands.

"Maybe. Oasis planes, Oklahoma. Not far from here. A gas company employee," Sam said, throwing the newspaper onto the hood of the car for Dean and Shia to see. "Dustin Burwash supposedly died from Cruetzfeldt-Jakob."

"Huh?" Dean said, confusion written on his face.

"Human mad cow disease," Shia clarified for him.

"Mad cow. Wasn't that on Oprah?" Dean said.

"You watch Oprah?" Sam said as he and Shia stared at Dean, their expressions laced with amusement they were having trouble hiding. Dean hesitated, suddenly embarrassed and wishing he hadn't said a thing.

"So this guy eats a bad burger," Dean said, trying to change the subject. "Why is it our kind of thing?"

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration," Sam said, taking pity on his brother and getting back to business. "It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy Dustin, sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."

"Ok. That's weird," Dean said.

"Yeah. Now, it could be a disease. Or it could be something much nastier."

"All right. Oklahoma," Dean said as the trio hopped back into the car. "Man. Work, work, work. No time to spend my money."

"Your money? I'm pretty sure I helped," Shia said climbing in the backseat.

"Okay, our money," Dean said sending his girlfriend a wink.

Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up outside of Oklahoma Gas & Power, stepping out of the car and walking up to Travis who was stood beside his van.

"Travis Weaver?" Sam said as the trio walked up to him.

"Yeah, that's right," Travis said as he turned to them.

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean said.

"Dustin never mentioned nephews with a beautiful girlfriend," Travis said with a confused look, but the look went away when he saw Shia...then he noticed that Dean was holding her hand.

"Really?" Dean said with a bright smile. "Well, he sure mentioned you. He said you were the greatest."

"Yeah," Sam agreed with him, keeping up the story.

"Oh, he did?" Travis said, seeming somewhat proud of the fact.

"Listen, we wanted to ask you, what exactly happened out there?" Dean asked, getting right to the point.

"I'm not sure," Travis told them, the smile fading. "He fell in the sinkhole. I went to the truck to get some rope, and by the time I got back..." His voice trailed off, not wanting to remember what he saw at that construction site.

"What did you see?" Dean asked, needing to get the answer.

"Nothing. Just Dustin," Travis said.

"No wounds or anything?" Sam said.

"Well, he was bleeding from his eyes and his ears, his nose," Travis told them. "That's it."

"So you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. That's what the doctors are saying."

"But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand like dementia, loss of motor control," Sam said. "You ever notice anything like that?"

"No. No way. But then again if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?"

"That's a good question," Dean muttered.

"You know, can you tell us where this happened?" Shia asked, knowing they weren't gonna get anymore out of Travis.

"Yeah," Travis told them.

Going on the directions Travis had given them, the trio drove into Oasis Planes, pulling up beside the sinkhole Dustin had fallen down and getting out of the car.

"Huh. What do you think?" Dean asked as they ducked beneath the tape surrounding the area.

"I don't know," Sam said. "But if that guy Travis was right, it happened pretty damn fast."

"So, what, some sort of creature chewed on his brain?"

"No, there'd be an entry wound," Shia said. "Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."

"Looks like there's only room for one," Dean said, aiming the flashlight down the hole.

"Good luck boys because I'm not going down there," Shia said, knowing exactly what he was getting at and doing the 'girly' thing. No way was she going down a small, dark hole.

"You wanna flip a coin?" Dean said to his brother as the three stood up and Dean walked over to a length of piping nearby.

"Dean, we have no idea what's down there," Sam said.

"All right. I'll go if you're scared," Dean said, walking back over to them. "Scared?"

"Flip the damn coin," Sam said, not all the pleased about being accused of being scared. Dean laughed as he pulled a coin from his pocket.

"All right, call it in the air, chicken," Dean said, flipping the coin. Sam snatched it out of the air before it could hit Dean's hand again.

"I'm going," Sam stated.

"I said I'd go," Dean said, smiling slightly.

"I'm going," Sam repeated more adamantly, taking the piping from his brother and tying it round his waist.

"All right," Dean said, stepping back and taking the other side of the piping.

"Sam, honey, be careful," Shia said as she watching him get ready to go down the hole

"Don't let him drop me," Sam said to his best friend as she moved to him, helping him tie the piping tighter round his waist, making sure herself that he wasn't dropped.

Sam had gone down the sinkhole, and had not been dropped by either his brother or Shia, and he was now sat in the passenger seat of the car, flicking a small, dead beetle he had found down there across the palm of his hand.

"So you found some beetles," Shia said, leaning forward from the backseat. "In a hole in the ground. That's shocking, Sam."

"There were no tunnels," Sam said, defending his actions. "No tracks, no evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat. It's usually dead meat, but…."

"How many did you find down there?" Dean asked.

"Ten."

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain," Dean said.

"Well, maybe there were more," Sam said, still defending his actions and his thoughts.

"I don't know. Sounds like a stretch to me," Dean said.

"Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood, whether something like this has ever happened before," Sam said. And an idea came to Dean's mind as he noticed a sign flashing past the window as they drove.

"What?" Sam asked, noticing his brother's attention was elsewhere.

"I know a good place to start," Dean said. Sam and Shia's attention went the same way Dean's was, and they saw an advertisement sign for a barbeque.

"I'm kind of hungry for a little barbeque, how about you?" Dean finished with a smile, getting a look from Shia. "What, we can't talk to the locals?" Again, the look from Shia, knowing there was more to it then that.

"And the free foods got nothing to do with it?" Shia said.

"Of course not. I'm a professional."

"Right," Shia said, totally not believing him as Dean pulled up to a nearby curb. Still, Sam and Shia followed him out of the car and towards the house.

"Growing up in a place like this would freak me out," Dean said, looking round at their surroundings.

"Why?" Sam asked, clearly shocked at his brothers statement.

"The manicured lawns, 'How was your day, honey'? I'd blow my brains out."

"There's nothing wrong with normal," Sam said, this clearly being the kind of life he would lead.

"I'd take your family over normal any day," Shia said, stepping back a little to look around at Dean, and probably hers too, idea of hell. Sam and Dean continued towards the house, knocking on the front door. A few seconds later, the door was opened and a middle aged man stood in front of them, smiling brightly.

"Welcome," he said.

"Is this the barbeque?" Dean said, his smile just as wide.

"Yeah. Not the best weather, but…." He trailed off as he held his hand out to the brothers.

"I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are…?" he introduced himself.

"Dean. This is Sam," Dean introduced them both. He turned to introduce Shia, only to find her still on the edge of the lawn, looking round at the houses and slowly making her way towards the boys.

"Sam, Dean," Larry said, drawing Dean's attention back to him. "Good to meet you. So you two are interested in Oasis Plains?"

"Yes, sir," Dean said, a little overly friendly.

"Let me just say, we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color… or sexual orientation." At his comment all Dean could do is stare while Sam stood there, trying not to laugh. Both, for a moment, were stuck on what to say.

"We're brothers," Dean eventually said, reaching behind him and hoping Shia was now close enough. She was, and he pulled her tightly into his side.

"Shia. My wife," he said matter-of-factly. Smiling brightly at the man she was being introduced, Shia wriggled slightly in Dean's tight embrace, his hands digging almost painfully into her sides.

"Our father is getting on in years," Sam continued to explain. "We're just looking for a place for him."

"Great. Great. Well, seniors are welcome too. Come on in," Larry said as he walked back into the house, Sam, Dean and a slightly confused Shia following.

"Wife? You could have said girlfriend," Shia whispered to Dean.

"Are you complaining?" Dean asked.

"No, it just caught me by surprise."

Sam, Dean and Shia followed Larry through the house and into the backyard, smiling and feigning interest at what Larry was telling them.

"You said you were the developer?" Sam asked, continuing with his questioning and knowing it wouldn't be hard to get answers out of this guy. Very long and drawn out answers. Shia got bored very easily, so she decided to tease Dean by giving him a slight pinch on the bum. Dean jumped slightly by surprise and send Shia a look. Shia gave him a small smile and a wink and mouthed the words 'Later'.

"Eighteen months ago," Larry continued. "I was walking this valley with my survey team. There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains."

Walking them through the garden as he spoke, Larry now stood beside a middle-aged blonde woman with a friendly face and smile.

"This is my wife, Joanie," Larry introduced the blonde woman.

"Hi there," Joanie said, offering her hand to Sam, Dean, and Shia.

"Hi," Dean said, taking her offered hand.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Joanie said again, turning her attention and hand to Sam.

"Sam, Dean, and his wife Shia," Larry said, introducing them.

"Pleasure," Joanie said.

"Tell them how much you love the place, honey," Larry said to his wife. "And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses."

"Right," Joanie said with a smile.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Larry said, walking away from the brother's and his wife.

"Don't let his salesman routine scare you," Joanie said when she had all three of their attention. "This really is a great place to live." Joanie smiled as another woman with a beaming put on smile and wearing a business suit quickly walked up beside them. Shia wiggled out of Dean's grip to grab a plate of potato chips, she was so hungry. She left the table to stand next to Dean again.

"Hi, I'm Lynda Bloom, head of sales," she said, introducing herself to what she saw as potential buyers.

"And Lynda was second to move in. She's a very noisy neighbour, though," Joanie told the boys as she walked away and Lynda let out a burst of false laughter.

"She's kidding, of course," Lynda clarified. "I take it you three are interested in becoming homeowners."

"Well…." Dean stuttered out.

"Yeah, well…." Sam also stuttered.

"Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, colour, or sexual beliefs," Lynda said, coming up with a different assumption as Larry had. What the hell did she think was going on?

"This is my husband," Shia said motioning to Dean. Lynda smiled at the couple. "This is Sam my brother in law, we were looking for a house to start in."

"Oh, well, houses out her were perfect for raising families. Do you plan on having children?" Lynda asked with a friendly smile.

"Yes, we are," Dean said. Shia gave him a surprised look. "We're thinking about having a couple. Right, honey?" Dean asked Shia, she sent Lynda a quick nod.

"Well, I think you two are a lovely couple," Lynda said to them.

"Thank you," Dean said through his smile. "We're gonna go talk to Larry. Ok, Sam?" Turning to walk away, Shia lightly tapped Sam on the bum, causing Sam to jump slightly. Sam turned and watched as Dean and Shia made their way back to the house.

With his brother and Shia gone, Sam turned back to Lynda, smiling falsely and mentally cursing his brother for the situation he had just put him in.

Inside the house, Dean and Shia are being shown round the house by Larry.

"Now, houses like this are perfect for big families. I assume you lovely couple will be considering that soon?" Larry asked show the couple the living room. Shia nodded while Dean thought of an awful lie.

"Oh, yes, as a matter of fact...she's pregnant right now," Dean said wrapping an arm around Shia's waist and pulling her towards him. Shia gave him a hard look. Now, she would have to go along with it and she knew nothing about pregnancy.

"Oh really? How far along are you?" Larry asked Shia, she said the first number that came to mind.

"About 15 weeks," Shia lied. She made a mental note to slap Dean in the face later.

"You're not showing yet? My wife was showing around that time," Larry asked almost skeptically.

"Well, the doctor said I'll pop one of these days," Shia said sending Larry a smile smile.

"Well, do you know the sex yet? In some cases the doctors can tell already," Larry asked. Man, he is really interested in this whole pregnancy thing. Shia looked at Dean asking for help through her eyes.

"It's a boy. Yeah, we're excited for a boy," Dean said sending Larry a smile.

"Well, each house will have a small room. You can turn it into a nursery. I'm assuming your brother will be living with you, so he'll have a room to himself...then there's your father. He could have have a room to himself. Hmm, when I think about you two should consider a house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Let's get into detail of the house, shall we?" Larry said walking towards the kitchen with Shia and Dean following.

"I'm going to kill you, Dean," Shia whispered in Dean's ear.

"Oh, I know," Dean said with a grin.

"You got three choices," Larry said as they walked down the stairs. "Carpet, hardwood and tile."

"Whoa," Shia said as they rounded the corner and saw a number of bug boxes, containing bugs. "Someone likes bugs."

"My son," Larry said, distaste evident in his voice. "He's into insects. He's very inquisitive."

"Hmmm," Dean said, following Shia's gaze to the bug boxes.

Back outside, Sam was stood listening to a lengthy discussion from Lynda about the benefits of moving into Oasis Plains.

"Who can say no to a steam shower?" Lynda said, trying her best to sell the place. "I use mine every day."

"Sounds great," Sam said with a strained smile that Lynda didn't seem to notice.

"You also have three different whirlpool tubs to choose from," she continued. Sam, searching round the yard, noticed the large spider that was slowly making it way towards Lynda's hand resting against the table. Looking up, Sam saw a young boy watching from a short distance away, holding back his laughter.

"The hardware for the tubs includes nickel, brass, and when you see the kitchen you can choose from…."

"Excuse me," Sam said, pushing her gently aside and picking the spider up from the table. Holding the arachnid on his hands, Sam made his way over to the young boy.

"Is this yours?" he asked, handing him the spider.

"You gonna tell my dad?" the boy asked, taking the spider from him.

"I don't know. Who's your dad?"

"Yeah. Larry usually skips me in the family introductions."

"Ouch. The first-name basis with the old man sounds pretty grim."

"Well, I'm not exactly brochure material."

"Well, hang in there. It gets better, all right. I promise."

"When?"

"Matthew!" Larry's voice rang out before Sam could answer him. Sam turned to see Larry marching over to him, Dean and Shia trailing behind.

"I am so sorry about my son and his pet," Larry said, emphasising the last word as he stopped beside his son, Matt.

"It's no bother," Sam said sincerely.

"Excuse us," Larry said, guiding Matt away from them.

"Remind you of somebody?" Sam said to Dean as he and Shia stopped in front of him. Dean looked over at Larry yelling at Matt the turned back to Sam, genuinely unsure of what he meant.

"Dad?" Sam clarified for him.

"Dad never treated us like that," Dean said.

"Well, dad never treated you like that. You were perfect. He was all over my case," Sam said, to which Dean just stared at him blankly, shaking his head.

"You don't remember?"

"Maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes you were out of line." Sam reaction to Dean's statement was a short burst of laughter.

"Right. Right. Like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bowhunting."

"Bowhuntings an important skill," Dean said as if it was a matter that needed defending.

"Whatever. How was your tour?" Sam asked. Shia, who had been silence the entire time the boys had been having their little discussion, deciding now was the best time make her voice heard. And safest probably.

"Oh, it was excellent. I'm ready to buy and have my baby in about seven months," Shia said, trying to lighten the situation. "So you might be on to something. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here."

"What happened? And are you pregnant?" Sam asked.

"About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job. Get this: a severe allergic reaction to bee stings. And no! Do I look pregnant to you?! It was Dean's idea."

"More bugs," Sam said.

"More bugs," Dean said.

"I think we should get out of here," Shia said, turning to the Dean with a smirk. "You know, before Larry over there has us picking out baby decorations and stuff. Or maybe since he thought you guys were gay...he should have you guys pick out 'his & his' matching towels" Dean gave Shia a hard look before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to the impala.

Later that night, the pair drove back through Oasis Plains, Sam driving with Dean beside him and Shia in the backseat behind the boys. Sam flicked his eyes between the couple, sighing deeply while both seemed to be in their own worlds, Dean flicking through their father's journal and Shia with her head lay back against the seat.

"You know, we're gonna be lucky if Larry lets us near those houses again," Sam said into the silence. "You guys could have blown this with the whole pregnancy thing. What were you thinking? You knew Shia didn't know much about being pregnant."

"Hey, they were assuming we were gonna have kids someday, so I told them what they wanted to hear," Dean said looking at a sleeping Shia. "Besides, I wouldn't mind having kids with her anyway." It was moments like this when Sam knew that Dean loved his best friend, Dean would possibly quit hunting and settle down with her. Hmm, maybe one day.

"You have to admit, she does look like a motherly type. Hmm, a mom with a nice ass. That's perfect," Dean said with a small smile, Dean wasn't aware that Shia was awake the entire time they were talking.

"Oh God, Dean, you are such a pervert," Shia cried out, a shocked look on her face as she smacked Dean across the back of his head. Dean just continued smiling widely.

"What? It's not my fault you have a nice ass." Again, Shia swung out to smack Dean again, but Dean was quicker this time, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer from the backseat.

"You wanna quit that," he told her, still smiling. "You know I'm jokin' babe." Letting go of her wrist, Dean kissed his girl. And with her man somewhat distracted, Shia took the opportunity to get in the smack across the back of Dean's hand he had stopped her from a minute ago. Pulling away, Dean stared at Shia with wide eyes.

"I owed you that hit for the whole pregnancy thing anyway," she said with a smile.

"Guys. Back to the case please," Sam said, breaking up this little scene.

"Yeah," Dean said as they pulled their attention back to the job at hand. Dean went back to his father's journal while Shia leant against his chair, running her hand through his hair where she had smacked him twice as if soothing the spot.

"You know I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles?" Dean said, flicking through the journal. "What is it that could make different bugs attack?"

"Well, hauntings sometimes include bug manifestation," Sam said.

"Yeah, but I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity."

"Yeah, me neither," Shia agreed.

"Maybe they're being controlled somehow," Dean suggested. "You know, by something or someone."

"You mean like Willard?" Shia said off-handedly.

"Yeah. Bugs instead of rats."

"There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals," Sam said. "Elementals, telepaths."

"Yeah, the whole Timmy-Lassie thing," Dean said, thinking for a moment.

"Larry's kid," Dean came up with. "Bugs for pet's."

"Matt?" Sam said, giving his name.

"Yeah."

"He did try to scare the realtor with a tarantula."

"Think he's out Willard?" Shia asked.

"I don't know. Anything's possible, I guess," Sam said, while Dean's attention was held by something out of the window

"Oh, hey, pull over here," Dean said suddenly. Sam did as he was told, pulling into the driveway of an empty house.

"What are we doing here?" Sam asked as Dean got out of the car, Shia following.

"It's too late to talk to anybody else," Dean said simply, opening up the garage door.

"We're gonna squat in an empty house?" Sam said, getting the picture. Dean nodded, making Shia smile widely.

"I wanna try the steam shower. Come on," Dean said giving Shia a seductive look.

"I love you at times," she exclaimed, her arms still wrapped round him. "Even when you are a jerk to me."

"Come on, I know some dirty things we can do in the stem shower!" Dean said with a smile at his girlfriend, noting the look Sam was giving him. Sam reluctantly drove into the garage Dean was still holding open. Passing by his brother, Sam reached out the open window and punched his brother in the stomach. Dean just rolled through the punch and closed the garage door after the car was inside.

Next morning in the house Sam, Dean and Shia had 'borrowed' for the night, Shia walked down the upstairs hall, following the sound of running water.

"You ever coming out of there?" Shia called into the closed bathroom door.

"What?" Dean's voice called back to her.

"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner," Shia called, this time banging on the bathroom door.

"Hold on," Dean replied, turning the water, which was clearly the shower, off.

"Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on." In reply, Dean this time spoke face to face, swinging the bathroom door open wearing two towels, one round his head and one covering his dignity round his waist.

"This shower is awesome. You know we can repeat all the things we did in thus shower last night," he said excitedly with a wide smile. As usual around Dean, Shia laughed despite herself.

"Come on!" Shia said, turning to walk away. As she did, Dean pulled her back to him, kissing her. Smiling against his lips, Shia pulled away from him, pulling Dean's dignity towel with her, which only caused Dean to close the door further to hide his dignity.

"Oh come on, it's nothing I haven't seen before. Now, move your ass ," Shia said with a sly smile, chucking Dean's towel back to him as she walked away and Dean closed the bathroom door again.

With Dean out of the shower, Sam, Dean and Shia followed their police report back down to Oasis Planes. To Lynda, the realtors, house to be exact. The three pulled up outside the crime scene where there were police cars and ambulances already in place. Getting out of the car in the rain, Sam and Dean opened up two umbrella's, Shia linking her arm through Dean's so she could get under the umbrella, that way her hair won't get wet, and walked towards where Larry was stood on his cell phone with his own umbrella.

"Look, I don't know anything more right now," Larry was saying in to the phone. "I'll have to call you back. All right." Larry hung up, looking up as Sam, Dean and Shia came to a stop in front of him.

"Hello. You're, uh, back early," he said nervously to the trio.

"Yeah, we just drove in, wanted to take another look at the neighbourhood," Dean said casually.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"You guys met Lynda Bloom at the barbeque?" Larry said, turning to watch as the woman in question was loaded into the back of the coroner van in a body bag.

"The realtor," Sam said.

"Well, she uh… passed away last night," Larry told them.

"What happened?" Shia asked.

"I'm still trying to find out. I identified the body for the police," Larry said, turning to the police at the house door just in time to see them motioning him over.

"Look, I'm sorry. This isn't a good time," Larry said politely, turning back to the group of what he saw as potential buyers.

"It's ok," Shia said equally as polite with a small smile.

"Excuse me," Larry said, walking over to the house.

"You know what we have to do, right?" Dean said once Larry was out of ear shot.

"Yeah," Sam said simply. "Get in that house."

"See if we got a bug problem," Dean finished.

"Ew, I hate bugs," Shia said grimacing, Dean smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Once the police emptied out of the house, Sam, Dean and Shia decided it was their turns to look around. Professionals of a different kind.

Climbing a fence and jumping through a window at the side of the house, the group got into the house somewhat illegally, instantly finding the crime scene, with the black outline of Lynda's body as well as the left over blood.

"This looks like the place," Dean said, stepping cautiously over the body outline and into the bathroom. Picking up one of the towels from the bathroom floor, a number of dead spiders fell out of it.

"Spiders," Dean said, turning up to Sam and Shia. "From Spider-Boy?"

"Matt," Sam corrected. "Maybe."

"Okay, now that we have came to our conclusion. Let's get the hell out if here," Shia said looking at the dead spiders.

Following up on what was now their only lead, Sam, Dean and Shia sat in the car watching as Matt got off his school bus. But it wasn't towards his house where he was heading.

"God, I feel like gross watching kids get off the school bus," Shia said.

"Isn't his house that way?" Dean stated, pointing in the opposite direction to where Matt was heading.

"Yep," Sam said, watching as Matt walked into a wooded area.

"Where the hell is he going?" Shia said. To find out there answer, the three got out of the car, following Matt. They found him in a dense area of the woods, picking a grasshopper from a tree branch.

"Hey, Matt," Sam said as the young boy turned to him. "Remember me?"

"What are you doing out here?" Sam asked, surprised to see the trio here.

"Well, we wanna talk to you," Dean said.

"You're not here to buy a house, are you?" Matt said, stating what was now plainly obvious. "Wait. You're not serial killers?" he finished, getting a little weary of the trio while they smiled at his statement.

"No, no," Shia said with a small laugh. "No, I think you're safe, kid."

"So, Matt, you sure know a lot about insects," Dean said with a sarcastic smile.

"So?" Matt said.

"Did you hear what happened to Lynda, the realtor?"

"I hear she died this morning."

"That's right. Spider bites," Dean said, trying to bait the boy out.

"Matt, you tried to scare her with a spider," Sam said, trying to take the softer approach.

"Wait. You think I had something to do with that?" Matt said.

"You tell us?" Shia said, her voice taking a tone somewhere between Sam and Dean's approach.

"That tarantula was a joke," Matt said, desperately trying to defend himself. "Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas-company guy."

"You know about those?" Sam said.

"There is something going on here," Matt said. "I don't know what, but… something's happening with the insects. Let me show you something." Picking up his bag, Matt walked further into the woods, Sam, Dean and Shia exchanging a quick look before following him.

"So if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" Sam asked as they walked. "Maybe he could clear everybody out."

"Believe me, I've tried, but, uh… Larry doesn't listen to me," Matt said.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Mostly? He's too disappointed in his freak son."

"I hear ya."

"You do?" Dean said, which earned him a look from Sam before turning back to talk to Matt.

"Matt, how old are you?" Sam asked.

"Sixteen," Matt answered.

"Well don't sweat, because in two years something great's gonna happen."

"What?"

"College. You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."

"What kind of advice is that?" Dean said, a hint of some hidden emotions in his voice. "Kid should stick with his family."

Sam stopped suddenly, turning to Dean with a death glare which Dean returned as the two stared each other down. Holding them apart, Shia pushed her way between the two, talking directly to Matt.

"How much further, Matt?" Shia asked.

"We're close," Matt said, continuing further into the woods. Before following the young boy, Shia turned and smacked Dean across the back of the head.

"Stop it," Shia said, turning to also smack Sam across the back of the head. "Both of you, you're embarrassing."

Leaving the two boys to rub the sore spots on the back of their heads, Shia followed Matt. It was a few seconds before Sam and Dean followed her, and the four now stood in a clearing where there was a high and definite sound of buzzing.

"I've been keeping track of insect populations," Matt told them. "It's part of an AP science class."

"You two are like peas in a pod," Dean said sarcastically. Sam glanced quickly back at his brother, rolling his eyes.

"What's been happening?" he asked Matt.

"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles, you name it. It's like they're congregating here."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"I don't know," Matt answered truthfully, while this whole time, Shia had been staring out into the clearing.

"What's that?" she asked the boys around her, motioning out to a large mound of earth towards the opposite edge of the clearing. She looked over at Matt, who simply shrugged, then turned to her two boys. Dean also shrugged, but walked out towards it to investigate, Sam, Shia and Matt following. Dean tapped his foot against the top of the dirt, the light motion making the earth sink inwards to a small hole. Bending down with the other three stood around him, Dean poked into the hole with a stick, the wood tapping against something inside.

"There's something down there," Dean said to Sam and Shia as he reached down into the whole, digging through the mud while Shia watched him with a slightly disgusted look on her face, showing her girly side over the wet dirt and earthworm that her boyfriend was digging his hand through.

"Come on. Come on," Dean mumbled to himself, digging deeper into the hole.

"You are so not touching me for a while," Shia joked slightly while Dean finally pulled his hand from the dirt hole, pulling a human skull with it. "Could this job get any more gross?"

Searching for the origin of their newfound pile of skulls, Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up to a college campus. Opening the backseat, Sam covered the box of skulls with his coat before carrying it out and following Dean and Shia up to the campus steps.

"So a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave," Sam said casually.

"Well, maybe this is a haunting," Dean suggested. "Pissed-off spirits, some unfinished business?"

"Yeah, maybe. The question is, why bugs? And why now?"

"That's two questions, Sam," Shia said, taking up Dean's post and trying to make the situation light.

"Hey, so with that kid back there, how could you tell him to just ditch his family like that?" Dean said to his brother, not taking Shia opportunity to keep a light tone to their conversation.

"Just, eh, I know what the kid's going through," Sam said.

"How about telling him to respect his old man? How's that for advice?" Dean said.

"Dean, come on," Sam said, coming to an abrupt stop and causing Dean and Shia to stop in front of him. "This isn't about his old man. You think I didn't respect dad. That's what this is about."

"Let's just forget it, all right. Sorry I brought it up," Dean said, beginning to walk away.

"I respected him," Sam called after his brother. "But no mater what I did, it was never good enough."

"So what are you saying, that dad was disappointed in you?" Dean said, stopping again.

" 'Was'? Is. Always has been," Sam said.

"Why would you think that?" Dean asked.

"Because I didn't want to bowhunt. Or hustle pool. Because I wanted to go to school and live my life. Which, in our whacked-out family, made me the freak."

"Yeah, you were kind of like the blonde chick in The Munsters."

"Dean, you know what most dads are when their kids score a full ride? Proud. Most dads don't toss their kids out of the house."

"I remember that fight," Shia said softly, speaking up for the first time during this little argument as she did indeed remember one little part of her childhood in the Winchester household.

"I seem to recall a few choice phrases coming out of your mouth," Dean continued.

"You know, truth is, when we finally do find dad, I don't know if he's even gonna want to see me," Sam said.

"Sam, your dad was never disappointed in you. Never," Shia said, trying to defuse the situation as best she could.

"He was scared," Dean finished.

"What are you talking about?" Sam said.

"He was afraid of what could've happened to you if he wasn't around," Dean said.

"But even when you two weren't talking, he used to swing by Stanford whenever he could," Shia said calmly. "Keep an eye on you. Make sure you were safe."

"What?" Sam said, this being news to him.

"Yeah," Dean said simply.

"Why didn't he tell me any of that?"

"Well, it's a two-way street, honey," Shia said with a gently smile. "You could have picked up the phone."

For a moment, the three stood silent outside of the campus, tears forming in the back of Sam's eyes as he processed this new information.

"Come on. We're gonna be late for our appointment," Dean said, breaking the moment when he and Shia continued walking into the campus, Sam following a second later.

Inside the campus in a large lecture hall, Sam, Dean and Shia are waiting for their answers. And they come in the form of the professor as he walks back in carrying their box of skulls.

"So you three are students?" he asked the trio as they stand as he enters.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Yeah. We're in your class. Antro 101."

"Oh, yeah," the professor said, placing the box down on the desk while Sam, Dean and Shia stand in front of him.

"Yeah," Shia said giving him a polite smile. The professor smiled back, but his smile was full of lust as he eyed Shia up and down.

"You know? You should start sitting in the front, young lady," He said to Shia giving her a quick wink which Dean caught.

"So, what about the bones, professor?" Dean asked trying to change the subject off his girlfriend.

"This is quite an interesting find you've made," the professor told the three. "I'd say they're 170 years old, give or take. The time frame and the geography heavily suggest Native American."

"Were there any tribes or reservations on that land?" Sam asked.

"Not according to the historical records," the professor said. "But the, uh… relocation of native peoples was quite common at that time."

"Right," Shia said with her typical, sweet smile. "Well, are there any local legends? Oral histories about the area?"

"Well, you know, there's a Euchee tribe in Sapulpa," the professor said. "It's about 60 miles from here. Someone out there might know the truth."

"All right," Dean said, smiling cheerfully at the two with him.

Sam, Dean and Shia made their way down to the Euchee tribe with their box of skulls. Pulling up beside a local, Dean stuck his head out, asking where they could get the rest of their information. He pointed them off in the opposite direction and Dean drove off, raise his hand in a thank you to the local.

Parking outside a small café, the trio got out and stepped inside, looking round at the patrons. Dean was the first to notice an old man sat at a nearby table playing solitaire. Pointing him out to Sam and Shia, they stood beside his table.

"Joe White tree?" Sam asked, watching as the old man looked up at them and nodded. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right."

"We're students from the university," Dean said.

"No you're not. You're lying," Joe said, his attention still on his card game.

"Ermm, well, truth is…." Dean tried.

"You know who starts sentence with 'truth is'? Liars," Joe told them, easily catching out the pairs bluff. Giving up, Dean turned to Shia and Sam, letting him have an attempt at getting the information they needed out of this guy.

"Have you heard of Oasis Plains?" Sam said.

"It's a housing development near the Atoka Valley." Shia continued.

"I like them. They're not a liars," he told Dean then turned back to speak to Shia and Sam. "I know the area."

"What can you tell us about the history there?" Sam asked.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Something…. Something bad is happening in Oasis Plains. We think it might have something to do with some old bines we found down there. Native American bones."

"I'll tell you what my grandfather told me. What his grandfather told him," Joe said, beginning his story. "Two hundred years ago, a band of my ancestors lived in that valley. One day, the American cavalry came to relocate them. They were resistant, the cavalry impatient. As my grandfather put it: 'On the night the moon and the sun share the sky as equals, the cavalry first raided our village'. They murdered, raped. The next day, the cavalry came again. And the next and the next. And on the sixth night, the cavalry came one last time. And by the time the sun rose, every man, woman and child still in the village was dead." Joe paused slightly, and Sam Dean and Shia exchanged a look, what this might have to do with their current problem running through their minds.

"They say in the sixth night," Joe continued. "As the chief of the village lay dying, he whispered to the heavens, that no white man would ever tarnish this land again. That nature would rise up and protect the valley. And it would bring as many days of misery and death to the white man as the cavalry had brought upon his people."

"Insects," Dean said. "Sounds like nature to me. Six days."

"And on the night of the sixth day, none would survive."

With their new information, Sam, Dean and Shia headed out back towards their car.

"When did the gas-company man die?" Sam asked as they walked.

"Let's see," Dean said. "We got here Tuesday, so Friday the 20th."

"March 20th. That's the spring equinox," Shia said.

"The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals," Dean repeated what Joe had said.

"So every year about this time, anybody in Oasis plains is in danger," Sam said. "Larry built his neighbourhood on cursed land."

"And on the sixth night, that's tonight."

"If we don't do something, Larry's family will be dead by sunrise. So how do we break a curse?"

"You don't break a curse," Shia said as they stopped beside the car, getting in. "You get out of its way and let it raise hell on it's own. We gotta get those people out now."

With the sun set and the time of the curse slowly approaching, Sam, Dean and Shia sped down towards Larry's house, Dean with his cell phone pressed to his ear and Larry on the other end.

"Yes, Mr. Pike," Dean spoke into the phone. "There's a mainline gas leak in your neighbourhood."

"God. Really?" Larry replied, and it was clear to anyone, except perhaps Dean that Larry really didn't believe him. "How big?"

"Well, it's fairly extensive. I don't wanna alarm you, but we you're your family out of the vicinity for at least 12 hours or so. Just to be safe."

"And who is this again?"

"Travis Weaver," Dean lied. "I work for Oklahoma Gas and Power."

"Uh-huh," Larry said casually. "Well the problem is, I know Travis. He's worked with us for a year. So who is this?"

"Errr…." Dean stuttered slightly before snapping the phone shut in defeat.

"Give me the phone," Sam said, grabbing it from his brother and dialling. The phone dialled through to Matt, sat in his room.

"Hello?" Matt answered after around two rings.

"Matt, it's Sam," Sam voice replied from the other end of the phone.

"Sam, my backyards crawling with cockroaches."

"Matt, just listen. You have to get your family out of that house right now, ok?"

"What? Why?"

"Because something's coming."

"More bugs."

"Yeah," Sam answered, glancing quickly over at the two other occupants of the car. "A lot more."

"My dad doesn't listen in the best of circumstances. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"You gotta make him listen, ok?"

"Give me the phone. Give me the damn phone," Shia said, this time her snatching the phone away as she leant forward to the front seat.

"Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell the truth," Shia called down the phone. "He'll just think you're nuts."

"But… but he's my…." Matt stammered out.

"Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and you gotta go to the hospital, ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah, ok," Matt said as both him and Shia hung up. Shia slapped the phone back into Sam's lap, glancing forward at him.

" 'Make him listen'," she mimicked. "What are you thinking?"

Hoping that Matt had managed to succeeded in getting his family out of their house and Oasis Planes, Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up outside the house….

Only to find the family car still parked outside.

"Damn it. They're still here. Come on," Dean said as the three jumped out of the car. From the living room window, Larry watched as the three approached his house. He raced outside himself, followed by his son.

"Get off my property before I call the cops," Larry called out to the trio heading up his path.

"Mr. Pike, listen…." Sam called out as the three came to a stop.

"Dad, they're just trying to help," Matt called from over his father's shoulder.

"Get in the house," Larry called back to his son. Matt looked over at Shia, who was giving him a look.

"Sorry. I told him the truth," Matt said to Shia.

"We had a plan, Matt. What the happened to the plan?" Shia said.

"Look, it's 12 am," Sam said, bringing the conversation back to the main point. "They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go. Before it's too late."

"You mean, before the biblical swarm?" Larry said sceptically.

"Larry, what do you think really happened to the realtor?" Dean butt in. "Huh. And the gas-company guy. You don't think something weird's going on around here?"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy," Larry spat out. "You come near my boy or my family again, we're gonna have a problem."

"Well, I hate to be a downer, but we got a problem right now," Dean spat back.

"Dad, they're right," Matt finally spoke up again. "Ok, we're in danger."

"Matt, get inside!" Larry called back to his son again.

"No!" Matt said in reply.

"Now!"

"Why won't you listen to me?"

"Because this is crazy!" Larry cried out in all honesty. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Look, this land is cursed," Sam said, being the sensible one as always. "People have died here. Now are you gonna really take that risk with your family?"

"Wait," Shia said, stopping her friends rant as something else hit her ears. "You hear it?"

They did. In the distance, heading quickly their way was the sound of buzzing. The insect kind.

"What the hell…?" Larry stammered out as flies hit against the porch light, making it crackle with electricity.

"All right, it's time to go," Dean said, being the decisive one as always. "Larry, get your wife."

"Yeah," Larry said, suddenly believe them and turning to head back inside his house.

"Guys?" Matt said, his eyes staring out down the street. The others followed his stare and saw thousands and thousands of flies heading their way like a blanket across the sky.

"Oh, my God," Larry said, suddenly seeing that there was no way any of the people around him could be lying.

"We'll never make it," Shia said simply, stating what was clearly the obvious.

"Everybody in the house. Everybody in the house! Go!" Listening to Dean's commands, he, Sam, Shia, Matt and Larry ran back into the house, slamming the door shut behind themselves.

"Is there anyone else in the neighbourhood?" Sam asked Larry.

"No, it's just us," Larry answered as his wife walked out from the living room.

"Honey, what's happening?" Joanie asked her husband. "What's that noise?"

"Call 911," Larry called to her as a reply. Joanie did nothing, she just stared at her husband. "Joanie!" Larry called again, knocking her out of her stupor.

"Ok," Joanie said weakly, walking off to the phone.

"I need towels," Dean called out to Larry.

"The closet," Larry replied, running off with Dean and Shia to retrieve them.

"All right, we gotta lock this place up," Sam said to Matt. "Doors, windows, the fireplace, everything, ok?" With a small nod, Matt followed the urgent Sam up the stairs while his mother held the phone against her ear, listening.

"The phones are dead," Joanie said as Dean, Shia and Larry came back into the room, arms laid with blankets.

"Must have chewed through the phone lines," Dean said as he and Shia knelt beside the front door, rolling blankets into the crack between door and floor. The lights in the house all suddenly blinked out, leaving them only with the small and creepy illumination from the moonlight streaming through the windows.

"And the power lines," Shia said simply, looking round at the darkened house.

"Maybe my cell…." Larry said, grabbing for his cell from the desk draw. "No signal," he said when he looked down at the useless cell in his hands.

"You want get one," Dean said, picking up on something else on the windows. "They're blanketing the house."

Shia, Larry and Joanie watched as well as tons of flies and other flying insects slapped heavily against the windows, covering them with a dark sheet that began blocking out what little light was coming through. Sam and Matt now joined the group downstairs, the upstairs now secured.

"So, what do we do now?" Larry asked, turning to Sam, Dean and Shia, who he now considered the experts in this.

"We try to outlast it," Sam said as Dean, without a word, dashed off towards the kitchen. "Hopefully the curse will end at sunrise."

" 'Hopefully'?" Joanie said sceptically.

In the kitchen, Dean was now rummaging through all the different products under the sink, trying to ignore the almost eerie sound of both the buzzing of the flies and the slaps as they hit against the windows. Keeping his attention on the boxes beneath the sink, Dean finally found what he was looking for. A can of bug spray.

Heading back to the others, Dean received an odd look from Joanie when she saw what he was now holding in his hand.

"Bug spray?" she said questioningly.

"Trust me," Dean said. Just then, the soft sound of creaking echoing from the living room joined all the other all too disconcerting sounds around the house.

"What is that?" Matt's scared voice squeaked out as Sam, Dean and Shia walked tentatively into the living room.

"The flue," Shia said softly, knowing all too well what was happening. And so did the brothers.

"All right, I think everybody needs to get upstairs," Dean called to the others, backing towards the stairs carefully but quickly. Just then, the last thing in the world they had wanted to happen happened as the flue broke and thousands of wasps darting out into the house. A woman scream, clearly Joanie's, rang through the house as the group ran for the stairs, ducking, covering and swatting away the wasps. Dean picking up the rear of the group, held up his light lighter to the spray can and sprayed, turning the can in to a flame-educed mini weapon he aimed at the approaching insects.

"Everybody upstairs!" Dean yelled to the group behind him. "Now! Go, go, go! Go!"

The five of them obeyed, running past Dean and up the stairs while he continuing spraying his mini flame thrower towards the insects. Once the others were past him, Dean stopped his flame, concentrating on running up the stairs after the others, where they were heading to the loft. Larry pulled down the loft door and ladder, sending his wife and son up before him.

"Go on Matt, go!" Larry called as Matt crawled into the loft, climbing up after him. Sam, Dean and Shia quickly following them, Dean spraying his make-shift flame thrower at the opening of the loft, discouraging any insects from coming closer.

"Come on!" he called to his brother and girlfriend, who closed the loft door and followed him over to where there were small holes being made in the ceiling, sawdust falling like small torrents of snow.

"Oh, God. What's that?" Joanie said, the fear really kicking in now.

"Something's eating through the wood," Dean said in answer.

"Termites," Matt said, answering the unspoken question.

"All, right, everybody get back," Shia commanded the rest of the civilians to their group. "Get back! Get back!"

Listening, Matt, Larry and Joanie moved towards the back of the loft just as the half eaten section of the loft fell through, letting in a swarm of angry wasps. While Dean set alight the can again, Sam began kicking away a section of panel from a nearby box. Seeing what he was doing and getting the idea, Shia kicked loses a pole from the edge of the room.

"You got it?" Sam asked as he held the panel against the hole in the roof.

"Yeah," Shia called back, propping the panel in place with the pole. But all was for nothing as another section of roof fell in, letting through more wasps. Matt, Larry and Joanie cowered further in the corner, Sam and Shia joining them while Dean sprayed the bug spray/flame thrower towards the incoming wasps. The first hole fell through again, just as the spray can ran out and their only good weapon against these bugs was lost.

"Oh, crap!" Dean yelled, throwing the empty can across the room and ducking with the others. The group huddled together, covering themselves from the onslaught of wasps streaming in through the holes in the roof. They covered their coats and clothing over their heads, Dean's arms and jacket wrapped round Shia, feeling the need to protect his girl even though he knew she didn't need protecting.

"Look," Matt suddenly said, pointing out towards the open roof. The rest of the group followed his gaze to see the morning sunlight now streaming into the attic. Sam, Dean and Shia slowly got to the feet, standing below the new skylight, watching as the wasps that had once been their attackers fled into the early morning sky.

"You know, I just realized something," Shia said.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Dean asked.

"The curse was for white people, right? Well, I don't know if you noticed but I'm not white. The curse couldn't have effect me." Shia told the boys.

"Yeah, you have a point," Sam said as he shrugged.

With now both the trauma of the night and the case over for Sam, Dean and Shia, They pulled up outside Larry's house to see him packing up a removals van with all their household items.

"What, no goodbye?" Dean said as the trio stepped up to Larry beside the van.

"Good timing," Larry said with a small smile as he turned to them. "Another hour and we'd have been gone."

"For good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The developments been put on hold while the government investigates those bones you found. But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again."

"You don't seem to upset about it," Shia said with a small smile of her own.

"Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but…." Larry trailed off as he watched Matt walked out of the house with a number of his boxes.

"Somehow… I really don't care," Larry finished as he turned back to Sam, Dean and Shia, who in turned smile back, glad to see there was something else they had managed to achieve on this case.

Pulling away from the others, Sam walked over to Matt, watching as he threw away seemingly everything he owned that was bug like.

"What's this?"

"I don't know," Matt replied with a short laugh. "They kind of weird me out now."

"Yeah, I should hope so," Sam said with a small laugh himself.

After saying their goodbyes, Dean and Shia leaned against the car, watching and waiting as Sam walked back to them, leaning beside Shia. They watched for a second as Larry and Matt walked back into the house, communicating like they never had before.

"I wanna find dad," Sam suddenly spoke into the silence.

"Yeah, me too," Dean replied, while Shia silently agreed with a nod, wanting the only family she had ever known back together just as much as the boys.

"Yeah, but I just…. I wanna apologize to him," Sam said.

"For what?"

"All the things I said to him. He was just doing the best he could." After his words, Shia leaned into Sam, hugging herself against his side.

"Well, don't worry," Shia said into his shoulder. "We'll find him. And you'll apologize. And then within fives minutes, you guy's will be at each other's throats."

"Yeah, probably," Sam said with a laugh, swinging his arm round his friend shoulders and sitting for a minute with her hugged to his side.

"Let's hit the road," he said finally, pulling away and standing up.

"Let's," Dean said, him and Shia following Sam into the car, the three driving away with the residual hope that it wouldn't be long before this somewhat dysfunctional family was back together again.


	9. Chapter 9: Asylum (1x10)

About an hour or two away from a new city, the Winchesters and Shia stopped at a gas station. Dean was outside filling the car up, Shia was beside him. Sam was in the store getting some snacks for the road.

"So, you saw your mom?" Shia asked. Dean nodded in response. "Damn, that's got to be tough. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Yeah, I just wish I had you with me," Dean said looking at his girlfriend.

"I know, baby, but you know Bobby's rules when it comes to me. 'If I'm gonna be hunting with the Winchesters, I should come back home and hunt with my old man when he needs me on a case.' And trust me, he needed me on that case." Shia told Dean, she could have sworn she saw Dean smile a little. Shia walked over to Dean and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Dean Winchester."

"Yeah, well, ditto," Dean said with a smile.

"Okay, guys, ready to go. I have snacks," Sam said as he was walking back towards the car.

"Did you get me some chocolate?" Shia asked, Sam nodded and pulled out a candy bar. The trio got in the car and now they were on their way to a motel.

In a motel room, Sam, Dean and Shia were still on their search for the boy's father. Dean was sat at the table, flipping through the journal, while Shia was sat on the bed going through sheets of information that weren't in the journal. Sam was sat on the bed opposite Shia on his cell phone.

"No, dad was in California last we heard from him," Sam said into the phone. "We just thought he comes to you for munitions, maybe you seen him in the last few weeks. Just call us if you hear anything. Thanks."

"Caleb hasn't heard from him?" Dean asked as Sam hung up.

"Nope," Sam answered. "Neither has Jefferson or Pastor Jim. What about the journal? Any leads in there?"

"No," Dean said. "Same as last time I looked. Nothing I can make out. I love the guy, but I swear he writes like friggin' Yoda."

"You know, maybe we should call the feds," Sam suggested. "File a missing persons."

"We talked about this," Shia said, looking up from the sheets. "Your dad would be pissed if we put the feds on his tail."

"I don't care anymore," Sam said as Dean cell phone went off, Dean looking through piles of his clothes for it. "After all that happened back in Kansas. I mean, he should have been there, Dean. You said so yourself. You tried to call him and nothing."

"I know," Dean said. "Where the hell is my cell phone?"

"You know, he could be dead for all we know," Sam said, ignoring him.

"Don't say that. He's not dead. He's… he's…."

"He's what? He's hiding? He's busy?"

"Sam, this is John we're talking about. I'm sure he's fine," Shia said as Dean finally found his cell phone, flicking it open to see the sound was a message tone. He opened it and saw it was from an unavailable number and simply read 42, -89. Co-ordinates.

"I don't believe it," Dean said with a slight laugh.

"What, baby?" Shia asked as Dean sat on the bed beside her.

"It's a… a text message," he stumbled out. "It's co-ordinates."

After the message on Dean's phone, Shia was now sat with the laptop open, Dean beside her, while Sam paced the room, still going through this.

"You think dad was texting us?" Sam said for about the fifth time.

"He's given us co-ordinates before," Dean gave the reply he had before.

"The man can barely work a toaster, Dean," Sam said.

"Sam, this is good news," Dean assured him. "It means he's ok. Or alive, at least."

"Well, was there a number on the caller I.D.?"

"No, it said unknown."

"Ok, well where do the co-ordinates point?" Sam said, turning to Shia.

"That's the interesting part," Shia said. "Rockford, Illinois."

"Ok, and that's interesting how?" Sam said.

"Well, I checked the local Rockford paper. Take a look at this," Shia said, turning the screen do Sam could see. He moved beside her, looking at the screen as Shia magnified a picture of Officer Kelly.

"This cop, Walter Kelly," Shia went on. "He comes home from his shift, shoots his wife, then puts the gun in his mouth, blows his brains out. And earlier that night, Kelly and his partner responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum."

"Ok, I'm not following," Sam said as Shia began flipping through the journal. "What does this have to do with us?"

"Your dad earmarked the same asylum in the journal. Let's see," Shia said, turning to the right page and showing it to Sam and Dean. "Here. Seven unconfirmed sightings. Two deaths. Till last week, at least. I think this is where he wants us to go."

"This is a job," Sam said, standing up and pacing angrily with his fingers laced behind his head. "Dad wants us to work a job."

"Yeah, maybe we'll meet up with him," Dean said. "Maybe he's there."

"Maybe he's not," Sam said. "He could be sending us there by ourselves to hunt this thing."

"Who cares?" Dean said, standing up as Shia closed the laptop and listened to them. "If he wants us there it's good enough for me."

"This doesn't strike you as weird?" Sam said. "The texting? The co-ordinates?"

"Sam. Dad's telling us to go somewhere, we're going," Dean said, walking off to pack his stuff. Sam and Shia just sat staring after him, knowing that when it came to his father, there was no way in hell either of them were gonna change his mind.

Following the co-ordinates and leads they had from the cases at the asylum, Sam, Dean and Shia had turned up at a bar. Inside the bar, Officer Gunderson was sat solemnly at the bar on his own. That was until Dean and Shia approached him.

"You're Daniel Gunderson, right? You're a cop?" Dean said.

"Yeah, Gunderson said simply."

"I'm Nigel Tufnel, this is Kristine Guest," Dean said, him and Shia sitting opposite Gunderson. "We're with the Chicago Tribune. Mind if we ask you a couple of questions about your partner?"

"Yeah, I do," Gunderson said. "I'm just trying to have a beer here."

"It's okay, it won't take that long," Shia said with a sweet smile. "We just want to hear the story in your words."

"A week ago my partner was sitting in that chair," Gunderson said. "Now he's dead. You gonna ambush me here?"

"Sorry. But we need to know what happened," Dean said. From the other side of the bar, Sam walked aggressively over to them.

"Hey, buddy. How about leaving the poor guy alone, huh?" Sam said, grabbing Dean roughly from his chair and pushing him into the pool table. "The man's an officer. Why don't you show a little respect."

Dean leaned against the pool table for a minute, staring at Sam, before leaving. Dean gone, Sam turned to Shia, who held her hands up in defense.

"I'm out of here," Shia said, leaving Sam alone with Gunderson.

"You didn't have to do that," Gunderson said to Sam.

"Yeah, of course I did. Those kinda people are serious jerks. Let me buy you a beer, huh?" Sam said, turning to the barman and holding up two fingers. "Two."

"Thanks," Gunderson said as Sam took the chair he had just thrown Dean out of.

Outside the bar, Dean and Shia were leant against the car, waiting for Sam. Dean was massaging a sore shoulder while Shia just looked really bored.

"I'm so frigging bored," Shia said with a smile. "Why did we have to be the people who get kicked out of the bar?"

"You weren't kicked out, baby," Dean said. "I was, you left willingly."

"Oh no," Shia said, turning to Dean with a smile. "Did Sammy hurt you?"

"No," Dean said, although he continued to massage his shoulder. Smiling, Shia leant into his shoulder and kissed it gently, keeping her eyes focused on his face. Dean turned to her with a smile, spinning her so she was in front of him, stood between his legs, and making her giggle softly.

"You said you were bored, right?" Dean said.

"Yeah, I did," Shia said. In reply to this, Dean simply pulled Shia closer and kissed her.

"Helping?" he said as he pulled away, smiling cheekily.

"Maybe," Shia said, wrapping her arms round Dean's neck and pulling back to him to kiss him again. Unnoticed by the pair, Sam walked out of the bar behind them, seeing the two clearly too occupied to notice him. Getting their attention, Sam cleared his throat loudly, making the two pull apart and turn to him.

"Hey," Dean said, him and Shia separating to stand side by side again. "You shoved me kind of hard in there, buddy boy."

"I had to sell it, didn't I?" Sam said. "It's Method acting."

"Huh?" Dean said, to which Shia repressed a laugh at her clueless her boyfriend sometimes was. Gorgeous and a real sweet guy, but clueless.

"Never mind," Sam said.

"I'm just glad you didn't have to turn on me," Dean said with a smile at Sam. "What'd you find out from Gunderson?"

"So, Walter Kelly was a good cop," Sam told them. "Head of his class, even-keeled. He had a bright future ahead of him."

"What about at home?" Dean asked.

"He and his wife had a few fights, like everybody, but it was mostly smooth sailing," Sam said. "They were even talking about having kids."

"Awe, that's so sad," Shia said out loud.

"All right, so either Kelly had some deep seated crazy waiting to bust out, or something else did it to him," Dean said.

"Right," Sam said.

"What did Gunderson tell you about the asylum?" Shia asked.

"A lot," Sam said with a smile.

Going to the source of the problem, Sam, Dean and Shia jumped the fence into the asylum next morning.

"So apparently, the cops chased the kids here, into the south wing," Sam said as they walked around the building.

"South wing, huh? Wait a second," Dean said, flicking through the pages of his fathers journal. "South wing, south wing. 1972. 'Three kids broke into the south wing. Only one survived'. The way he tells it, one of his friends went nuts and started lighting up the place."

"So whatever is going on, south wing seems like the heart of it," Shia said.

"Yeah, but if kids are spelunking the asylum, why aren't there a ton more deaths?" Dean said. As if answering that, Sam's eye fell on the broken chain across the doors.

"Looks like the doors are usually chained," Sam said. "Could've been chained up for years."

"Yeah, to keep people out," Dean said.

"Or to keep something in," Shia added as Sam cautiously walked to the doors, slowly pushing them open. He exchanged a look with Dean and Shia before the three walked together through the corridors, Dean with his EMF meter out.

"Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel," Dean said to Sam.

"Dude, enough," Sam said, making Dean and Shia laugh slightly.

"I'm serious," Dean went on. "You gotta be careful, all right. Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you got going."

"I told you, it's not ESP," Sam argued. "I just have strange vibes sometimes. Weird dreams."

"Yeah, whatever," Dean said. "Don't ask, don't tell."

"You getting any reading on the thing or not?" Sam said, keeping the conversation on the topic at hand.

"Nope," Dean said. "Of course that doesn't mean nobody's home."

"Spirits can appear during certain hours of the day," Sam said.

"Yeah, the freaks come out at night," Shia translated into her kinda language.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"Hey Sam, who do you thinks the hotter psychic?" Shia started with a smile. "Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Loved Hewitt, or you?"

With a playful look her way, Sam shoved Shia lightly as her and Dean laughed. Carrying on their personal tour of the building, the trio walked into an old operating room, Dean whistling lowly as he looked round at all the equipment. He flicked the switches on the EMF meter one last time before giving up and putting it away as he still got nothing.

"Man. Electroshock, labotomies. They did some twisted stuff to these people," Dean said before putting on a Jack Nicholson type accent. "Kind of like my man Jack in Cuckoo's Nest."

And all his attempted joke earned him were stares from his brother and girlfriend.

"So, what do you think?" Dean said, giving up the joking. "Ghosts are possessing people?"

"Maybe," Sam said.

"Or maybe it's more like, uh… like Amityville or the Smurl haunting," Shia suggested.

"Spirits driving them insane," Dean said. "Kind of like my man Jack in The Shining."

"Give it up, sweetie," Shia said, giving him a response this time as they carried on looking round the room.

"Dean?" Sam said, making Dean turn to him. "When are we gonna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Dean asked.

"About the fact that dad's not here," Sam said.

"Oh, let's see. Never," Dean said.

"I'm being serious, man," Sam said.

"So am I, Sam," Dean said. Behind them, Shia just shook her head. She could see the inevitably battle of the brothers coming up, which neither would win, and she didn't feel like getting involved. She just carried on searching round the room, continuing with the real reason why they were there.

"Look, he sent us here," Dean continued. "He obviously wants us here. We'll just have to pick up the search later."

"It doesn't matter what he wants," Sam said.

"See, that attitude right there? That is why I always got the extra cookie."

"Dad could be in trouble. We should be looking for him. We deserve some answers, Dean. I mean, this is our family we're talking about."

"I understand that, Sam. But he's given us an order."

"So what, we gotta always follow dad's orders?"

"Of course we do."

"Are you two girls done?" Shia said finally, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "Can we get back to the case now?"

Both looking over at rational girl, all Sam and Dean had to see was the look in her eyes and the way she was standing to know she was annoyed enough to cause both of them pain if they didn't listen to her right now. The three now looking round the room, Shia picked up a metal plague from one of the tables.

" 'Sanford Ellicott'," she read off of it. "You know what we gotta do. We gotta find out more about the south wing. See if something happened here."

Shia turned to walk out, smacking the plague across Dean's arm and shoving it into Sam's chest as she walked past them. Looking down at the sign, the boys read 'Chief of Staff Sanford Ellicott. M.D.' Glancing at each other, Sam threw the plague down as he and Dean followed Shia out.

Looking up the name Ellicott, the three had found his living relative, psychiatrist Dr James Ellicott. Taking this one, Sam was sat in the waiting room flipping through a magazine when the doctor came out of his office.

"Sam Winchester?" he called into the waiting room, making Sam look up.

"That's me," Sam said.

"Come on in," James said, walking into his office with Sam following behind. The two sat opposite each other, James at his desk and Sam on the couch.

"Thanks again for seeing me last minute," Sam said, looking round the room at all the certificates on the walls, and pictures on the desk. "Dr. Ellicott? Ellicott, that name. Wasn't there a… a Dr. Sanford Ellicott? Yeah, he was a… he was a chief psychiatrist somewhere."

"My father was chief of staff at the old Roosevelt Asylum," James said "How did you know?"

"Uh, well, I'm sort of a local history buff," Sam adlibbed. "Hey, wasn't there a… wasn't there an incident or something? In the, uh... in the…. In the hospital, I guess. In the south wing, right?"

"We're on your dollar, Sam. We're here to talk about you," James said.

"Oh, ok. Yeah, yeah, sure," Sam said.

"So," James began.

"So," Sam repeated, not sure what to say.

"How's things?" James asked.

"Uh, things are good, doctor?" Sam said.

"Good. What you been doing?" James asked.

"Uh, same old. Just been on a road trip with my brother and a friend," Sam said, the tone in his voice quite different between the words 'brother' and 'friend'.

"Was that fun?"

"Loads. Um, you know, we met a lot of… interesting people."

"Mm-hm."

"Did a lot of, uh…. A lot of interesting things," Sam said, wanting to get off this subject. "Uh…. You know, what was it exactly that happened in the south wing? I forget…."

"Look, if you're a local history buff, then you know all about the Roosevelt riot," James said.

"The riot? Well, no, I know. I'm just curious," Sam said.

"Sam, let's cut the bull, shall we?" James said. "You're avoiding the subject."

"What subject?" Sam asked.

"You," James said simply. "Now, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you all about the Roosevelt riot if you tell me something honest about yourself. Like… this brother you're road tripping with. How do you feel about him?"

This question, for Sam, was a stumper. One he wasn't sure he wanted to answer.

Outside the doctor's office, Dean and Shia were waiting somewhat impatiently for Sam to come back out. Dean grabbing Shia by the waist pulling her towards him, Sam walked passed them as he came out, Dean and Shia following him to the car.

"Dude. You were in there forever," Dean said. "What the hell were you talking about?"

"Just the hospital, you know," Sam said.

"And?" Shia said.

"And the south wing?" Sam said. "It's where they housed the real hard cases. The psychotics, the criminally insane."

"Sounds cosy," Dean said.

"Yeah. And one night in '64, they rioted. Attacked staff, attacked each other."

"So what, the patients took over the asylum?"

"Apparently."

"Any deaths?"

"Some patients, some staff. I guess it was pretty gory. Some of the bodies were never even recovered including our chief of staff, Ellicott."

"What do you mean, never recovered?"

"Cops scoured every inch of the place, but I guess the patients must've stuffed the bodies somewhere hidden."

"That's grim," Shia said with a grimace.

"Yeah," Sam said. "So they transferred all the surviving patients and shut down the hospital for good."

"All right, so to sum it up," Shia said. "We've got a bunch of violent deaths and a bunch of unrecovered bodies."

"Which could mean a bunch of angry spirits," Sam added.

"Good times," Dean said as the group got into the car. "Let's check out the hospital tonight."

Back at the main doors to the building, Sam, Dean and Shia cautiously pushed through, knowing they were more than likely gonna find a lot more by night than day. Each had their equipment on them as they walked in, Sam with a flashlight, Dean with an EMF meter and Shia holding a video camera on night vision.

"Getting readings?" Sam asked as the EMF meter beeped.

"Yeah, big time," Dean said.

"Full of spirits, this place is orbing like crazy," Shia said, motioning to the camera lens where there were white balls floating around.

"Probably multiple spirits out and about," Dean said.

"If these unrecovered bodies are casing the haunting…." Sam began.

"We gotta find them and burn them," Dean finished. "Just be careful though. The only thing that makes me more nervous than a pissed off spirit is the pissed off spirit of a psycho killer."

As they walked down the corridor, they didn't notice the figure pass quickly behind them, and didn't see a thing as they turned. And seeing nothing, they carried on walking, also not noticing the spirit in the side corridor as they passed. The spirit of an old patient, his head shaking violently as he sat strapped in a straight jacket.

The three moved off in opposite directions, Dean down one corridor with his EMF meter while Shia took the night screen camcorder into another room with Sam and his flashlight. Searching round all the different nooks and crannies of the room, Shia followed a sound with her camcorder, which picked up the images of a woman, a large hole through the side of her head. Sam and Shia gasped in shock, backing up quickly as the woman slowly approached them.

"Dean. Dean! Shotgun!" Shia called out and Dean came racing in, shotgun aimed at the woman.

"Get down!" Dean yelled, firing as Sam and Shia ducked, the rock salt repelling the spirit as she disappeared.

"What the hell? That was weird," Shia said as her and Sam got to their feet.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Dean said, hr pulled Shia towards him to get a look at her. "You okay, baby? She didn't hurt you, right?" Shia shook her head.

"Baby, I'm fine. She didn't really attack us. It was weird," Shia said, Dean nodded his head and turned to walk away with Shia and Sam following.

"Yeah, I know," Dean said almost skeptically.

"No, Dean, I mean, it was weird that she didn't attack us," Sam said.

"Looked pretty agro from where I was standing," Dean said.

"She didn't hurt us," Sam said. "She didn't even try. So if she didn't want to hurt us then what did she want?"

Walking past one of the rooms, a low noise caught their ears. Turning his shotgun to the room, Dean walked in cautiously with Sam and Shia to where there was an upturned bed against the corner wall. Shia tipping it aside, the three came face to face with a terrified Kat, curled up in the corner.

"It's alright, sweetie. We're not going to hurt you. It's ok," Shia said as Dean lowered the shotgun and Kat stood up. "What's your name?"

"Katherine," Kat said. "Kat."

"Ok," Dean said. "I'm Dean. This is Sam and my girlfriend Shia."

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"Um, my boyfriend Gavin…." Kat started.

"Is he here?" Dean interrupted her.

"Somewhere," Kat said, Sam, Dean and Shia exchanging a worried glance. "He thought it would be fun and try and see some ghosts. I thought it was all just, you know, pretend. I've seen things. I heard Gavin scream and…."

"All right," Dean said, taking her hand and leading her to the door. "Kat, come on. Sam's gonna get you out of here and then we're gonna find your boyfriend."

"No, no," Kat said, pulling away from him. "I'm not gonna leave without Gavin. I'm coming with you."

"It's no joke around her okay, it's dangerous," Dean said.

"That's why I've gotta find him," Kat said adamantly.

"Alright," Dean said, giving in. "I guess we're gonna split up, then. Let's go."

Looking for Gavin, the group separated, Sam and Shia searching in one direction while Dean was with Kat.

"Gavin!" Sam called into the quiet of the building.

"Gavin?" Shia repeated, aiming the flashlight round the corridors. Turning, she came face to face with Sam, who was staring at her.

"What?" Shia asked cautiously.

"Nothing," Sam said with a smile. "It's just we barely get time to ourselves. I just miss having my best friend to myself."

"You make it sound like we're having a dirty affair. I'm sorry we don't have much time together. Okay?" Shia said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, well, I miss you."

For a second, Shia just continued to stare at Sam, wondering why, as he said, he was bringing this up now of all times. After the second, she smiled slightly, somewhat seeing his point and linking her arm through his.

"You're right," she said. "Well, as of right now we're spending time together."

"Yeah. What fun we're having!" Sam said, making Shia laugh a little.

"Okay," Shia said. "If we get out here, remind me to get rid of Dean for a while. We can have some bff time then."

"Alright. Okay," Sam said with a smile, the two going back to the matter at hand.

Up on their side of the building, Sam and Shia walked into a room to see Gavin lay on the floor.

"Gavin. Hey, Gavin," Sam said, trying to shake him awake. It worked, Gavin waking with a jump and edging away from them.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," Sam said. "We're here to help."

"Who are you?" Gavin asked.

"My name is Sam. This is Shia," Sam said, helping Gavin to his feet. "We found your girlfriend."

"Kat?" Gavin said.

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"Is she all right?" Gavin asked.

"She's worried about you," Shia said. "Are you okay?"

"I was running," Gavin said. "I think I fell."

"You were running from what?" Sam asked.

"There was… there was this girl," Gavin stuttered out. "Her… her face…. It was all messed up."

"Okay, alright. Listen, listen," Shia said. "This girl, did she try to hurt you?"

"What? No. She…." Gavin said, his sentence faltering off.

"She what?" Shia said.

"She kissed me," Gavin said, half whispering.

"Well, I guess you're somewhat cute. Did she try to hurt you physically?" Shia said.

"Lady, she kissed me," Gavin said. "I'm scarred for life."

"Well, trust me, it could've been worse, she could've groped you or something," Shia said, her and Sam laughing slightly. "Now, do you remember anything else?"

"She…. Actually, she tried to whisper something in my ear," Gavin said.

"What?" Shia asked.

"I don't know. I ran like hell," Gavin admitted.

Back down the opposite side of the building, Dean and Kat were still on their search for Gavin, Dean's flashlight doing just as his had and flickering out completely.

"You son of a bitch," he muttered, putting away the useless flashlight and pulling a lighter from his pocket. "It's all right. I got a lighter."

"Ow. You're hurting my arm," Kat said softly.

"What are you talking about?" Dean said. Turning round, he held the glow from the lighter near her arm, seeing a dead looking something with a hold on Kat's arm. With a scream, Kat was forcibly pulled into a side room, the door locking behind her.

"Kat!" Dean yelled into the room, pulling on the door while Kat pounded on it. "Kat, hang on!"

With a crowbar, Dean tried to pry the door open when Kat stopped pounding, sensing something else in the room with her. She turned, but there was nothing there. Nothing until she turned again and the spirit of a shaggy looking man was in front of her. She screamed, backing away, but the spirit was now behind her. Inside the small room, she tried her best to get away from him, screaming still.

Outside the room, Dean was still trying to pry the door open when Sam, Shia and Gavin came running up to him.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"She's inside with one of them," Dean said.

"Help me!" Kat yelled out, pressed against the wall and trying not to look at the spirit.

"Kat!" Gavin screamed through the door.

"Get me out of here!" Kat yelled again.

"Kat, honey," Shia yelled through the door to her. "It's not gonna hurt you! Listen to me! You have to face it. You have to calm down."

"She's gotta what?" Dean said.

"I have to what?" Kat repeated.

"The spirits. They're not trying to hurt us," Shia said. "They're trying to communicate. You gotta listen to it. You gotta face it."

"You face it!" Kat yelled back to her.

"No. It's the only way you're gonna get out of there," Shia told her.

"No!" Kat screamed.

"Look at it, that's all. Come on, you can do it," Shia yelled to her.

For a moment, Sam, Dean, Shia and Gavin waited outside while there was silence inside. Waited with baited breath while inside the room, Kat slowly turned to face the spirit as he leaned in to whisper to her.

"Kat?" Gavin called into the room after too much silence.

"Babe, I hope you're right about this," Dean said to Shia.

"Yeah, me too," Shia said as the door clicked open, Kat stood dazed in the doorway.

"Kat," Gavin said, grabbing her as she came out of the room and Sam, Dean and Shia took her place, looking round.

"One thirty-seven," Kat said.

"Sorry?" Dean said.

"It whispered in my ear," Kat told them. "137."

"Room number," Sam, Dean and Shia said together, exchanging a look as they bent down by their bag.

"All right, so if these spirits aren't trying to hurt anyone…." Sam said.

"Then what are they trying to do?" Dean added.

"Maybe that's what they've been trying to tell us," Shia said.

"I guess we'll find out. All right," Dean said, the three getting to their feet. "So…. Now, you guys ready to leave this place?"

"That's an understatement," Kat said.

"Ok," Dean said, turning to Sam. "You get them out of here. We're gonna go find room 137."

With a flashlight each and a shotgun, Dean and Shia made their way down the corridor while Sam took Kat and Gavin to safety.

"So how do you guys know about all this ghost stuff?" Kat asked now they were away from Dean and Shia.

"It's kind of our job," Sam said.

"Why would anyone want a job like that?" Kat said.

"I had a crappy guidance counsellor," Sam said with a small laugh.

"And Dean? He's your boss?" Kat said.

"No," Sam said, turning to her. But while he said it, he did wonder just how many people who came in to their lives thought that. Dean had a way of taking charge of the situation, whatever the situation, and whoever the situation was with. And the taken charge deal went high beyond just the big brother deal. And Kat's question made him wonder whether he was glad other people could see this, or even more annoyed at Dean for making it too obvious.

Or then there was the option of being annoyed at himself for letting it happen.

While they were heading out, Dean and Shia were walking deeper into the building, looking at door after door for room 137.

"Dean," Shia called as her flashlight beam shone on door number 137.

"Bingo," Dean said, walking up behind her. Pushing the door, Dean tipped aside the chair blocking it and walked in, Shia behind him. On the floor at their feet, the first thing they saw was a plague reading 'Dr. Sanford Ellicott', clearly meant for the door. Stepping over that and the rest of the debris in the room, Dean and Shia took to searching through the old file cabinet.

In room 137, Dean and Shia were still searching around, looking through the debris, the file cabinet and the trash can. Kneeling beside the desk, Dean noticed a removable panel in the wall. Inside was a brown leather case, which he held up to Shia.

"This is why I get paid the big bucks," Dean said. Shia took the case off him, taking a journal from inside and flipping through the pages.

"Patients journal," Shia read aloud. Dean pulled out a chair from behind the desk, about to sit on it, when he was swatted away by Shia, who took the seat. Glaring at her, all it took was one innocent kiss for him to give in, kneeling beside her and holding the flashlight over the journal.

"Why all work and no play makes Dr. Ellicott a very dull boy," Shia said as they flipped through the pages of the journal.

At the main exit, Kat and Gavin were still standing guard. Kat was sat on the floor, the shotgun resting against her shoulder, while Gavin paced in front of her.

"Hey, Gavin?" Kat said.

"Yeah?" Gavin said, kneeling beside her.

"If we make it out of here alive, we are so breaking up," Kat said, the sound of a clatter and approaching footsteps reaching their ears before Gavin could say anything else. Turning towards the sound, they saw a shadow walking across the wall, heading their way.

"Did you hear that?" Kat said.

"Something's coming," Gavin said, the pair standing up. The shadow turned into Dean and Shia walking round the corner, although Kat didn't se this in time and shot anyway. Dean quickly ducked, pulling Shia with him.

"Damn it, damn it!" Dean grated out.

"Don't shoot, it's us!" Shia called round the corner.

"Sorry, sorry," Kat called to them.

"Son of a…." Shia droned out, her and Dean getting up and coming fully round the corner. On the wall where their heads should have been was now a large hole made by the rock salt round. It seems spirits weren't the only things rock salt could harm.

"What are you still doing here?" Dean asked. "Where's Sam?"

"He went to the basement," Gavin said, motioning to Shia. "You called him."

"What the hell? I didn't call him," Shia said.

"His cell phone rang," Kat said. "He said it was you."

"Basement, huh?" Shia said, to which Gavin and Kat nodded. Sharing a worried glance with Shia, Dean knelt and took another gun from the bag at his feet.

"All right. Watch yourselves," Dean said as he and Shia began walking away. "And watch out for us."

Down in the basement, Dean and Shia were now wondering round, looking for Sam.

"Sammy!" Shia called into the quiet emptiness.

"Sam, you down here?" Dean called. "Sam!"

"Sam!" Shia called again, louder, her and Dean turning to find Sam now stood inches away from them, making the pair jump back slightly.

"Damn it, honey, answer us when we're calling you," Shia yelled at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Sam said.

"You know that wasn't me who called your cell, right?" Shia said.

"Yeah, I know," Sam said. "I think something lured me down here."

"I think I know who," Dean said. "Dr. Ellicott. That's what the other spirits have been trying to tell us. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"No," Sam lied easily. "How do you know it was him?"

"Because we found his log book," Shia said. "Apparently, he was experimenting on his patients. Some awful stuff. Makes lobotomies look like a couple of aspirin."

"But it was the patients who rioted," Sam said.

"Yeah, they were rioting against Dr. Ellicott," Dean said. "Dr. Feelgood was working on some sort of, like, extreme rage therapy. He thought that if he could get his patients to vent their anger, then they'd be cured of it. Instead, it only made them worse and worse, and angrier and angrier. So I'm thinking, what if his spirit is doing the same thing? To the cop. To the kids in the 70's. Making them so angry they become homicidal."

"Come on," Shia said, her and Dean walking past Sam. "We gotta find his bones and torch them."

"How?" Sam asked. "The police never found his body."

"The log book said he had some sort of hidden procedure room down here somewhere where he'd work on his patients," Shia said. "So…. I mean, if I was a patient, I'd drag his ass down here, do a little work on it myself."

"I don't know," Sam said, not moving after them. "It sounds kind of…."

"Crazy?" Shia finished for him.

"Yeah," Sam said.

"Yeah, exactly," Dean said, walking through a door with the word 'bio-hazard' across, Shia following while he motioned for Sam to do the same. Sam, for a moment, just stared at them, the look in his eyes far from that of Sam.

Finally following them into the room, Sam found the pair searching round for the hidden room.

"I told you," Sam said. "I looked everywhere. I didn't find a hidden room."

"Well, that's why they call it hidden," Shia said as Dean's ears pricked up to another sound in the room. The sound of whistling air coming from behind one of the walls.

"You hear that?" Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked as Dean and Shia knelt beside one of the walls, Dean holding his hand against a crack along the bottom only to find just where the air was coming from.

"There's a door here," Dean said.

"Dean," Sam said, pointing the shotgun in his hand to the pair on their knees. Dean and Shia looked up to the barrel of the shotgun just as a trickle of blood ran from Sam's nose.

"Step back from the door," Sam said, wiping the blood away.

"Sam, put the gun down," Dean said, him and Shia getting to their feet.

"Is that an order?" Sam said.

"No, it's more of a friendly request," Shia said, taking a step towards Sam only to back up as he held the gun higher.

"Because I'm getting pretty tired of taking your orders," Sam said.

"I knew it," Dean said. "Ellicott did something to you, didn't he?"

"For once in your life, just shut your mouth," Sam said.

"I can't help but agree with him, Dean," Shia muttered to her boyfriend.

"Why are you agreeing with me?" Sam said, turning to her for the time. Or turning on her. "You usually jump through hoops to defend your pathetic boyfriend."

"Let's not go there, I'm not really in the mood right now," Shia said.

"What are you gonna do, Sam?" Dean said. "Guns filled with rock salt. Not gonna kill me."

In answer, Sam shot the gun, the non-fatal rock salt hitting Dean in the stomach and sending him flying through the closed door behind them, Shia rushing after him as he lay on his back.

"No. But it'll hurt like hell," Sam said, watching Shia as she tried to slap Dean awake.

"Dean! Dean!" she screamed out, starting to shake him as he woke, groaning in pain. Shia turned, kneeling by his side as Sam stood over the two of them.

"Sam! We gotta burn Ellicott's bones and all this'll be over," Dean groaned out. "You'll be back to normal."

"I am normal," Sam said. "I'm just telling the truth for the first time. I mean, why are we even here? Because you're following dad's orders like a goods little soldier? Because you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval?"

"This isn't you talking, Sam," Dean tried.

"That's the difference between you and me," Sam continued. "I have a mind of my own. I'm not pathetic, like you."

"So, what are you gonna do, huh?" Dean said. "You gonna kill me?"

"You know what? I am sick of doing what you tell me to do," Sam said. "We're no closer to finding dad today then we were six months ago."

"Well, then here. Let me make it easier for you," Dean said, taking his gun from his jeans and holding it out to Sam. "Come on. Take it."

"Dean, what are you doing?" Shia said.

"Real bullets are gonna work a hell of a lot better than rock salt," Dean said to Sam.

"That's why you don't give your psychotic brother the gun," Shia said through gritted teeth, watching as thankfully, Sam hesitating. Maybe there was still a bit of Sam there.

"Take it!" Dean said, Sam doing just that and snatching the gun from Dean's hand, dropping Shia's hopes. He threw the useless shotgun aside, aiming the gun at Dean.

"You hate me that much?" Dean said. "You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead."

Sam, truly going for the hurt instead of the kill, turned the gun on Shia now, Shia backing away a little so she was now lay beside Dean.

"Sam, come on," she said almost desperately.

"So you're gonna shoot her now?" Dean said, his eyes still held on his brother. "Hurt the both of us by killing the one thing we both care about. Go ahead, if you can."

"Dean, will you shut the hell up? He doesn't have a gun pointed at you," Shia said.

"Pull the trigger," Dean said, ignoring Shia beside him. But again, Sam hesitated. "Do it!"

As Dean's yell echoed, Sam pulled the trigger on the gun, Shia flinching slightly. The next sound that echoed around the room was the hammer clicking against the barrel of the gun.

Sam, confused, pulled the trigger again. But again all that happened was the barrel clicking. Grabbing Sam by the collar, Dean pulled him down and punched him, sending him backwards.

Getting to her feet, Shia turned and helped Dean up, the pair walking over to Sam.

"Man, I'm not gonna give you a loaded pistol," Dean said.

"I was scared out of my wits! You should have let me in on the damn plan! If I would have died, bobby would've had your ass," Shia said, turning to Sam and knocking him out with a perfectly placed and waited kick.

"Sorry, Sammy," Shia said. Straightening his limbs again, Dean groaned in pain. "You okay?" Shia asked.

"Fine. You?" Dean replied.

"Great," Shia said. "Considering my best friend just tried to kill me."

"Well, let's find these bones, burn them, and get Sammy back," Dean said, him and Shia searching the room.

Shia held the shotgun while Dean held the flash, the pair knocking aside curtains and tables. Behind the two, the spirit of Sanford Ellicott swept behind them, Shia turning to slow to see him, but not to see the tuft of hair poking out of the side of a small cupboard. Grabbing Dean's attention, they moved to the cupboard, Dean opening it to find Ellicott's rotted body, the smell making the two cough and gag.

"Oh, that's flipping disgusting," Shia said as Dean went to work.

With the flashlight and his bag of tricks down beside him, Dean poured salt of the body, Shia standing back while he kept his hand covering the smell. Neither of them noticed the flashlight slowly flickering out behind them.

"Yeah, soak it up," Dean said as he poured lighter fluid over the body.

As the couple stood up, ready to finish the job, one of the operating table flew from the other side of the room, knocking them both in opposite directions. Her head hitting hard against the wall, Shia sat slightly dazed while Ellicott chose Dean to attacking, leaning over his body and taking hold of his head, electricity fizzing from his fingers like with Sam.

"Don't be afraid," Ellicott's spirit told Dean. "I'm going to help you. I'm going to make you all better."

Her head still pounding, Shia shook herself out of her daze and crawled forward, taking the lighter from Dean's bag and throwing the lit flame at Ellicott's rotted body. His body bursting into flames, Ellicott's spirit let go of Dean, his own body burning before his eyes as Shia scrambled towards Dean, the two backing.

Ellicott watched in horror and disbelief as his hands began to rot away, turning to ash in front of him. His arm round Shia at his side, Dean covered their bodies as Ellicott's rotting form dropped in front of them, shattering into ashes. Sitting up slightly and trying to catch their breathe, Dean and Shia turned as Sam came to, Ellicott's control over now his spirit was gone.

"You're not gonna try and kill me, are you?" Shia said to Sam.

"No," Sam said, massaging his aching jaw.

"Good," Dean said. "Because that would be awkward."

With Ellicott's spirit exorcised from the asylum, the five that were inside could now leave. Stood by their car, Sam, Dean and Shia said their goodbyes to the young teenage couple.

"Thanks, guys," Kat said sincerely.

"Yeah, thanks," Gavin added.

"No more haunted asylums, Okay?" Shia said. "And Gavin, take her out to see a movie or something. You know, like a normal boyfriend." With a small smile, Gavin and Kat walked back while Sam, Dean and Shia turned to leave in theirs.

"Hey, Dean," Sam said, stopping him before he got inside the car. "I'm sorry, man. You too, Shia. I said and did some awful things back there."

"You remember all that?" Shia said, smiling slightly at her friend.

"Yeah," Sam said. And at this, Shia portion of the conversation was over. She looked between the two brothers, seeing the different expressions on their faces, and climbed into the back of the car. What had happened in the asylum were issues that the brothers needed to sort out. She couldn't be the extra factor this time.

"It's like I couldn't control it," Sam said to Dean. "But I didn't mean it, any of it."

"You didn't, huh?" Dean said, something in the back of his mind telling him that wasn't exactly the truth.

"No, of course not," Sam said. All Dean did was nod slightly, an odd knowing look in his eyes. "Do we need to talk about this?"

"No," Dean said. "I'm not really in the sharing-and-caring kind of mood. I just wanna get some sleep."

Throwing his bag into the back beside Shia, Dean slid into the front seat of the car, pushing everything he truly wanted to say to the back of his mind for some other time far, far away. Just like he always did.

They stopped at a motel hours later, Shia and Dean waited outside while Sam got them a room.

"I thought you were going to let me die back there," Shia said leaning against Dean wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, baby. You're special to me," Dean said giving her a light kiss on the lips.

"I was going to use my powers against Sam for a second, I didn't want to but if that gun was loaded...I could have hurt Sam. I feel like I'm just like the things we hunt," Shia told her boyfriend, he looked at her with a sad expression. How could she say that about herself?

"Baby, you listen to me. You're a very good person, one of the best people I know. You're not a monster, and never will be. Okay?" Dean said, Shia nodded and proceeded to give her boyfriend a long, passionate kiss.

Dean got his sleep as the trio relaxed in the motel room, Dean and Shia lay curled comfortable together as always. Not even the trilling of his cell phone could wake Dean or Shia. But it did wake Sam.

"Dean," he said sleepily, trying to wake his brother. Dean or Shia not even stirring slightly, Sam picked up the phone himself.

"Hello?" Sam said into the receiver. The voice that spoke on the other end woke Sam completely, his body reacting on hit's own as he sat upright.

"Dad?"


	10. Chapter 10: Scarecrow (1x11)

One year on from that day where a couple has gone missing, now in the present day, the demon fighting Winchester and Colten trio are asleep in their hotel room. On the table beside them, Dean's phone trilled into action, but Dean didn't wake to answer it. He simply stirred slightly, gripping tighter to Shia in his arms. Sam, however, was woken by the sound.

"Dean," he called to his brother, but still got no response. Reaching out, Sam answered the phone himself.

"Hello?" he said sleepily in the receiver.

In a payphone in California, John Winchester responded to his younger son's voice.

"Sam, is that you?" his dad answered, sleep now forgotten from Sam's mind as he sat bolt upright in his bed.

"Dad?" he said in shock. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," John replied.

"We've been looking for you everywhere," Sam said softly. "We didn't know where you were, if you were okay."

"Sammy, I'm all right," John said. "What about you, Dean and Shia?"

"We're fine," Sam said, the pair behind him now beginning to wake. "Dad, where are you?"

"Sorry, kiddo, I can't tell you that."

"What? Why not?"

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked, him and Shia now sat up in their beds.

"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand," John said on the other end. "You're just gonna have to trust me on this."

"You're after it, aren't you?" Sam questioned. "The thing that killed Mom."

"Yeah. It's a demon, Sam."

"A demon? You know for sure?"

"A demon?" Dean questioned at the word. "What's he saying?"

"I do," John said to Sam, who was still ignoring his brother's questions. "Listen, Sammy, I, uh… I also know what happened to your girlfriend. I'm so sorry. I would've done anything to protect you from that."

"You know where it is?" Sam said.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it."

"Let us help."

"You can't. You can't be any part of it."

"Why not?"

"Give me the phone," Dean said, holding out his hand.

"Listen, Sammy, that's why I'm calling," John said. "You, your brother and Shia, you gotta stop looking for me. Alright, now, I need you to write down these names."

"Names?" Sam questioned. "What names, Dad… talk to me, tell me what's going on."

"Look, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think, they're everywhere. Even us talking right now, it's not safe."

"No. Alright? No way."

"Give me the phone," Dean demanded again.

"I have given you an order," John said to his youngest. "Now, you stop following me, and you do your job. You understand me? Now, take down these names."

Giving up on asking, Dean snatched the phone from Sam, who simply let him.

"Dad, it's me," Dean said into the phone. "Where are you…? Yes, sir.… Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?"

From behind him, Dean failed to notice Shia sigh deeply and bow his head, already seeing exactly what she saw every time Dean got around his father. Him falling into line.

After the conversation with their father, the brother's and Shia were now packed into the Impala, driving to where John had led them to.

"Alright," Sam said. "So, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?"

"Three different couples," Dean said. "All went missing."

"And they're all from different towns? Different states?"

"That's right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again."

"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere."

"Yeah, could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another."

"This is the second week of April," Shia said from the back seat playing with her hair.

"Yep," Dean told her.

"So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam said.

"Yahtzee," Dean said, looking down at the information they had gotten from their father. "Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

Clearly pissed to the max, Sam abruptly turned the car off to the side of the road and shut the engine off, making both Dean and Shia stare at him.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"We're not going to Indiana," Sam stated.

"We're not?"

"No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone. Sacramento area code."

"Sam…." Dean began.

"Dean," Sam cut him off. "If this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help."

"Dad doesn't want our help."

"I don't care."

"He's given us an order."

"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says."

"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important."

"Alright, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."

"Alright, look, I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Sam said coldly, shocking his brother at the tone in his voice. "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"

"Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away."

"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him."

"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean yelled, his anger filling up. Hitting the last straw, Sam aggressively jumped out of the car, Dean following as he went to the trunk. Shia looking out the window of her seat sighed deeply and got out of the car.

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" Dean continued. "You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks."

"That's what you really think?" Sam asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California," Sam said, hefting his backpack over his shoulder and turning to walk away.

"Come on, you're not serious," Dean called after him.

"I am serious," Sam yelled back.

"Boys, seriously," Shia piped up, trying to be the mediator as always, but knowing it was probably hopeless in this case. "This is stupid, we should just calm down."

"It's the middle of the night!" Dean yelled at his brother. "Hey, I'm taking off, I will leave your ass, you hear me?"

"Dean!" Shia yelled out, turning to him as Sam stopped and did the same.

"That's what I want you to do," Sam said.

"Sam, he didn't mean we he just said!" Shia called out, this time turning to him, watching as the two brothers stared each other down, waiting to see what the other would do. This was a game they played often. One usually without a winner.

"Goodbye, Sam," Dean said, closing the trunk and heading back to the car.

"No! What the hell?," Shia screamed to the both of them. "Sam, you can't do this."

"I've got to Shia," Sam told her. "I'm sorry."

"But…. Honey, we're meant to stick together," Shia said, getting desperate.

"Not this time," Sam said.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do? The both of you are being stupid dicks, and we're breaking up our little group. We can't do that."

"Shia, I have to find my dad."

"But I can't just choose between my boyfriend and my best friend? It's not fair to me."

"And I'm not asking you to."

Shia stood where she was, no idea what she should do next. She looked between Sam and Dean, both of them stood either side of her but a bit apart. And neither was pleading with her, telling her she had to come with him. They were just waiting, letting her make her own decision. The problem was, the choice was and always had been already made. Sam is her best friend and she loved him so much….

But she loved Dean more.

With tears in her eyes, Shia turned to Sam, softly mouthing the words 'I'm sorry', before she turned and headed back to the Impala, silently slipping into the passenger seat while Dean got in beside her and drove off, Sam watching after them before walking his own way.

The opposite way.

On the road, Dean would glance at his girlfriend hoping she would say something. Shia didn't know what to say, she just chose her boyfriend of six months over her best friend of ten years. Shia felt terrible but she had to be honest with herself, she loved Sam and Dean, but when it would come to choosing...who wouldn't choose their lover?

"Baby, I'm sorry. I was a dick, and I'm sorry. Will you talk to me now?" Dean said holding the steering wheel with one hand, the other hand was holding Shia's hand.

"What do you want me to say?" Shia asked.

"I just wanted to know that I didn't lose you or anything," Dean told her with a very charming smile.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Dean Winchester," Shia leaned into her boyfriend, cuddling to his side while he was driving. Dean kissed the top of her head, he loved this girl so much...although he's never told her those three words.

Pulling up in Burkesville for the case, Shia was on her side of the car now in deep thought, while Dean pulled out his cellphone thinking if he should call Sam or not, snapping his phone shut, Dean made up his mind and shut off the engine, getting out of the car. The engine stopping and the car door slamming shut finally knocked Shia out of her trance, stepping out of the car and following Dean to a small café. Scotty's Café, with Scotty said on the porch in front of it.

"Let me guess. Scotty," Dean said, gesturing up to the sign.

"Yep," Scotty said, glancing up at the sign above his head.

"Hi, my name's John Bonham and this is my girlfriend Cyndi Lauper," Dean began.

"Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin and some foreign pop singer? Scotty said interrupting Dean, shocking him a little.

"Wow. Good. Classic rock fan."

"What can I do for you, John?"

"I was wondering if, uh, you'd seen these people by chance," Dean said, handing two flyers to Scotty. They are missing person posters for Holly and Vince

"Nope," Scotty said, looking down at them. "Who are they?"

"Friends of ours. They went missing about a year ago. They passed through somewhere around here, and I've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem…."

"Sorry," Scotty interrupted, handing the flyers back to Dean. "We don't get many strangers around here." Dean and Shia just nodded slightly.

"Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room, anybody ever tell you that?" Shia said with a bright smile of her own. Scotty just stared at her, not taking the bait.

"Never mind," Shia said with a small chuckle as her and Dean began to walk away. "See you around."

Dean and Shia stood in the general store showing their flyers to Harley and Stacey

"You sure they didn't stop for gas or something?" Dean asked.

"Nope," Harley said as his wife shook her head. "Don't remember 'em. You said they were friends of yours?"

"That's right," Dean said just as Emily came out from the back carrying a load of boxes.

"Did the guy have a tattoo?" Emily asked.

"Yes, he did," Dean said, looking down at the picture of Vince, where you could clearly see the tattoo on his arm, before handing it to Emily.

"You remember?" Emily said to her aunt and uncle. "They were just married."

"You're right," Harley said, suddenly remembering. "They did stop for gas. Weren't here more than ten minutes."

"Do you remember anything else?" Shia asked.

"I told 'em how to get back to the Interstate. They left town," Harley said.

"Could you point us in that same direction?" Shia said.

"Sure," Harley said.

Going by Harley's directions, Dean and Shia were now driving down Orchard Road.

"Dean, babe, aren't you a little worried or something?" Shia asked Dean.

"About what?" he replied.

"Whatever this thing is, it seems to have a liking for couples. Now, if you and Sam were investigating this, there wouldn't be a problem. But, it's you and me. Perfect targets. Male and hot female."

"Shia, after everything you and me have faced, I think we can take on whatever this is. And I'm sure it's hot male and hot female."

"You better be right, because I don't like the idea of dying in Hicksville, Indiana."

"Burkesville," Dean corrected her.

"Whatever," Shia muttered, making Dean laugh slightly. Just as the car came past the orchard, a noise emitted from the back seat.

"What the hell?" Dean muttered, pulling over the car while Shia dug through the bag in the back. She came back with the EMF meter, beeping frantically. Seems they had found whatever they were looking for, and it was in the orchard.

Getting out of the car, the pair explored further, walking through the orchard.

"You know, I think Sam was right about a couple of things back there," Dean suddenly said.

"Things like what?" Shia said, not willing to start an argument by saying yeah, she agreed with Sam and what he said about Dean and his father.

"Like when he said I don't know what he's going through," Dean said, ducking his head slightly as if embarrassed by his sudden show of emotions. "I don't. I mean, his girlfriend was murdered in front of him. That's gotta hurt."

"Yeah, but you went through the same deal with Mary," Shia said.

"I can hardly remember that," Dean said. "Sam's pain is still there. I mean, I've just got you, and you're still here. Something I'm very thankful for by the way. I'd rather not lose you just yet."

"You won't," Shia said with a smiling, leaning up to kiss him. When she pulled back, she kept her hand laced through Dean's as the pair continued walking.

A little further in, they walked past the scarecrow who, in the light of day, was securely on his post.

"Now, I'm not scared of many things-," Shia started motioning to the scarecrow.

"Liar." Dean said interrupting Shia.

"What do you mean "Liar"? I'm not scared of many things,"

"Baby, you're scared of dolls, clowns, water, cemeteries..."

"At least I'm not scared of planes,"

"Yeah, whatever." Dean said, Shia smiled at him. Well, reminding him of the time we were on a plane is one way to shut him up.

"Dude, you fugly," Dean muttered to the scarecrow. Noticing a pattern on his arm, Dean took a ladder from a nearby tree and held it against the post.

"What are you doing?" Shia asked.

"Just hold the ladder," Dean told her. With a roll of her eyes at his tone, Shia did as he requested and held the Shia of the ladder while Dean climbed up it. Moving aside the scarecrows robe, Dean looked closer at the design. It was a tattoo, and one he recognized.

Taking out the flyer from his pocket, Dean compared the tattoo on the scarecrows arm to Vince's. it was exactly the same.

"Nice tat," Dean said to the scarecrow before turning to Shia. "Recognize this?"

He moved aside slightly, holding the picture beside the scarecrows are for her to compare them. Shia sighed, exchanging a glance with Dean as both of them were coming to the same conclusion.

Up in the town, Emily was outside in the garage when Dean and Shia pulled up again.

"You're back," Emily said with a bright smile.

"Never left," Dean replied.

"Still looking for your friends?" she asked. Dean nodded, the nameplate around Emily's neck catching his eye. Well, at least a name would make things a little more formal and polite now.

"You mind fillin' her up there, Emily?" Dean said. The young girl happily obliged, grabbing a pump and filling Dean's car with gas.

"So, you grew up here?" Dean asked.

"I came here when I was thirteen," Emily told them. "I lost my parents. Car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in."

"They're nice people," Shia said with a slightly sarcastic smile.

"Everybody's nice here," Emily said.

"So, what, it's the, uh, perfect little town?" Shia replied.

"Well, you know, it's the boonies. But I love it," Emily said with a small smile of her own. "I mean, the towns around us, people are losing their homes, their farms. But here, it's almost like we're blessed."

"Hey, you been out to the orchard?" Dean asked, changing the subject after a slight nod. "You seen that scarecrow?"

"Yeah, it creeps me out," Emily said, making Dean and Shia laugh slightly.

"Whose is it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. It's just always been there," Emily said. Nodding behind Emily, Shia motioned to the red van parked in the garage.

"That your aunt and uncle's?" she asked Emily.

"Customer," Emily said. "Had some car troubles."

"It's not a couple, is it?" Shia asked. "A guy and a girl?"

"Mmhmm," Emily said with a nod, a look of concern now crossing over Dean and Shia's faces.

In Scotty's café in Burkitsville, the young couple whose van broke down were sat at a table, Scotty serving them each a plate of apple pie.

"We're famous for our apples. So, you gotta try this pie," Scotty told them.

"Oh, no," the woman said. "It… please."

"It's on the house," Scotty said as the bell on the door rang and Dean and Shia walked into the café.

"Oh, hey, Scotty," Dean said cheerily. "Can I get a coffee, black?"

"Make that two," Shia called after Scotty as he walked away.

"Oh, and some of that pie, too, while you're at it," Dean yelled as he and Shia sat at a table beside the couple.

"How ya doin'?" Dean said to the couple, who waved and smiled their way. "Just passing through?"

"Road trip," the girl told them.

"Hm. Yeah, us too," Shia said. The couple gave a small nod as Scotty walked over to their table to refill their drinks.

"I'm sure these people want to eat in peace," Scotty said to Dean and Shia.

"Just a little friendly conversation," Dean said, Scotty again walking off with an agitated look. "Oh, and those coffees, too, man. Thanks."

"So, what brings you to town?" Shia asked the couple.

"We just stopped for gas," the girl said. "And, uh, the guy at the gas station saved our lives."

"Is that right?" Dean said.

"Yeah, one of our brake lines was leaking," the guy said. "We had no idea. He was fixing it for us."

"Nice people," Shia said for the second time today.

"Yeah," the guy agreed.

"So, how long till you're up and running?" Shia asked.

"Sundown," the man answered.

"Really, to fix a brake line?" Shia asked, to which the guy nodded. "I mean, you know, my boyfriend knows a thing or two about cars. He could probably have you up and running in about an hour, and wouldn't charge you anything."

"You know, thanks a lot, but I think we'd rather have a mechanic do it," the girl said.

"Sure. We know," Dean said, pausing slightly and thinking just how to say the next line.

"You know, it's just that these roads. They're not real safe at night," Dean continued, making the couple exchange a look

"I'm sorry?" the girl said.

"I know it sounds strange, but, uh… you might be in danger," Dean said.

"Look, we're trying to eat. Okay?" the guy said.

"Yeah," Shia said, wondering what the hell they could say now to convince them while the couple just threw worried glances their way.

"You know," Dean began again. "My brother could give you this puppy dog look, and you'd just buy right into it."

The bell above the café door jingled again, signalling that someone was walking in. Someone Scotty was expecting as he came out from the back.

"Thanks for coming, Sheriff," Scotty said, Dean and Shia looking up nervously as Scotty muttered something to the Sheriff they couldn't hear.

"Great," Shia said softly as the Sheriff walked over to them.

"I'd like a word, please," the Sheriff told them.

"Come on," Dean groaned out. "We're having a bad day already."

"You don't wanna make it worse," the Sheriff said so only they could hear.

And the Sheriff's way to make all this better was for Dean and Shia to leave town with an armed escort, turning back into town once the 'Now Leaving Burkesville' sign flashed past the window.

Dean and Shia, as a couple, were far too alike. Anyone could see that. And neither had much of a liking for the law, or lived their lives by rules.

Which is why, once night rolled in, the pair were on the interstate, making their way back into Burkitsville.

Already in Burkesville, the young couple who Dean and Shia had unintentionally scared at the café were now wandering through the orchard, their car broken down on the side of the road.

"I can't believe it. We just got the car fixed," the girl mumbled.

"This way," the guy said to her, walking further into the orchard. What neither noticed was the scarecrow, off his post, running quickly behind them. The girl did, however, did sense, turning round with a gasp.

"Steve?" she said, gripping onto the boyfriend's arm when they heard another noise.

"Who's there?" Steve yelled into the clearing. Getting nothing in return, he turned, only to come face to face with the scarecrow, slithering out from behind the trees and walking towards them. Without a second's hesitation, the pair turned and ran into the opposite direction, almost at the clearing when something, or someone else came out in front of them. Dean and Shia.

"Get back to your car," Shia told them. The couple didn't move, but simple turned, watching as the scarecrow got closer to them.

"Go! Go!" Shia screamed at them again. This time they ran, leaving Dean and Shia to take care of the living, walking scarecrow.

Cocking his shotgun, Dean aimed at shot of rock salt at the scarecrow, hitting him dead in the chest. The scarecrow stumbled, but didn't fall, still advancing on them. Dean and Shia began running backwards now, Dean still shooting at the scarecrow. Two more shots and it still did nothing.

"I really don't think that's working Dean!" Shia screamed at him as they caught up with the couple. Dean couldn't help but agree.

"Go! Go!" he screamed at the couple, the four now running and finally making it out of the orchard, stood just outside of the gates. Turning, Dean's shotgun up just as a precaution, the saw the scarecrow had already vanished. It seemed they were safe outside of the orchard gates.

"What… what the hell was that?" Steve stammered out.

"Don't ask," Dean and Shia said in unison.

Later that same night, different area code, Sam was sat in the bus station, Meg asleep on the floor nearby. The phone call that had been edging towards happen was now in process, Sam on the phone to Shia who was sat beside Dean in the driving seat of the Impala.

"The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" Sam repeated after Shia had told him everything.

"Yeah," Shia said. "I'm telling ya. Burkesville, Indiana. Fun Town."

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asked.

"No. We can cope without you, you know," Shia joked.

"So, something must be animating it. A spirit."

"No, it's more than a spirit. It's a God. A Pagan God, anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"The annual cycle of its killings? And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right. And you should see the locals. The way they treated this couple. Fattenin' 'em up like a Christmas turkey."

"The last meal. Given to sacrificial victims."

"Yeah, we're thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan God."

"So, a God possesses the scarecrow..." Sam began.

"And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice," Shia finished. "And for another year, the crops won't wilt, and disease won't spread."

"Do you know which god you're dealing with?"

"No, not yet."

"Well, you figure out what it is, you can figure out a way to kill it."

"I know. We're actually on our way to a local community college. We've got an appointment with a professor. You know, since we don't have our trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research," Shia said, making Sam laugh slightly. Beside her, Shia noticed Dean holding out his hand, motioning for the phone.

"Hold up. Dean wants to speak," Shia said, passing the phone to Dean.

"Hey bro," Dean said into the receiver.

"Hey," Sam replied. "You know, if you guys are hinting you need my help, just ask."

"We're not hinting anything. Actually, uh… I want you to know…. I mean, don't think…." Dean stuttered out, making Shia smile slightly, although she hid it. She knew Dean well enough to know what he was trying to say, and just how hard it was for him. Luckily, she knew Sam as well, and knew he would get the message from his brother loud and clear.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, too," Sam said, proving Shia right and understanding completely what his brother was trying to tell him.

"Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life."

"Are you serious?"

"You've always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I…. Anyway… I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."

"I don't even know what to say."

"Say you'll take care of yourself."

"I will."

"Call me when you find Dad," Dean said.

"OK. Bye, Dean," Sam said. Just like she had, Dean placed the phone back into Shia's outstretched hand.

"Sam?" Shia said to him.

"Yeah," Sam said.

"Keep in touch. Phone whenever you can. I mean it," Shia said, making Sam laugh again. The tone in her voice, the slight joke to her words, made him realize how much he was gonna and already was missing her. Both of them.

"Of course," Sam replied. "Bye, hun."

"Bye Sammy," she said as she hung up, going back to her vigil of staring blankly out of the window, missing her surrogate little brother more now she knew he was gone for good.

At the Burkesville community college, Dean and Shia were with the professor for their appointment.

"It's not every day I get a research question on Pagan ideology," the professor told them.

"Yeah, well, call it a hobby," Dean said.

"But you said you were interested in local lore?" the professor asked.

"Mmhmm," Dean replied.

"I'm afraid Indiana isn't really known for its Pagan worship."

"Well, what if it was imported? You know, like the Pilgrims brought their religion over. Wasn't a lot of this area settled by immigrants?"

"Well, yeah."

"Like that town near here, Burkitsville. Where are their ancestors from?"

"Uh, northern Europe, I believe, Scandinavia."

"What could you tell us about those Pagan Gods?" Shia finally spoke up.

"Well, there are hundreds of Norse Gods and Goddesses," the professor told her.

"We're actually looking for one. Might live in an orchard," Shia said. With this information, the professor took the pair into his classroom, opening a large book in front of them.

"Woods God, hm? Well, let's see," he said, flicking through the pages. Two pages in, he came to a picture of what looked like a scarecrow tied to a post in a farmers field.

"Wait, wait, wait," Dean said, stopping the professor's flicking fingers. "What's that one?"

"Oh, that's not a woods God, per se," the professor said.

"The V… Vanir?" Dean stumbled out, reading from the book. The professor nodded, so he carried on reading. "The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female. Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?"

"I suppose," the professor said.

"This particular Vanir, it's energy sprung from the sacred tree?" Dean said.

"Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic," the professor told them.

"So what would happen if the sacred tree was torched?" Shia said. "You think it'd kill the god?"

"Guys, these are just legends we're discussing," the professor said with a small laugh.

"Oh, of course," Shia stammered out, trying to cover up and holding out her hand for the professor to shake. "Yeah, you're right. Listen, thank you very much."

"Glad I could help," the professor said, shaking Dean's hand as well before the couple turned to leave. As they opened the class room door to leave, the first thing they saw were the sheriff and Scotty before they were knocked to the ground by the butts of their riffles, out cold before their bodies hit the floor.

Dean and Shia had finally woken up, but they had found themselves alone in a cellar, both with killer headaches.

Since they had woken up, they had been trying to figure an escape plan. That was until the cellar door had been opened. Looking up they saw Emily, tears streaming down her face, being held between her aunt and uncle.

"Aunt Stacy. Uncle Harley, please," Emily begged as she was roughly dragged downstairs and stood next to Dean and Shia. "Why are you doing this?"

"For the common good," her Aunt Stacey answered as she closed the cellar door again, leaving Dean, Shia and now Emily in the dark again.

In the cellar, Dean was trying to break his way out of the door, unsuccessfully, while Shia and Emily watched from the bottom of the stairs.

"I don't understand," Emily said, going over everything Dean and Shia had told her again. "They're gonna kill us?"

"Sacrifice us. Which is, I don't know, classier, I guess?" Shia said as Dean walked back over to them.

"You really didn't know anything about this, did you?" Dean said.

"About what? The scarecrow God?" Emily cried out in disbelief. "I can't believe this."

"Well, you better start believing, cause we're gonna need your help," Shia told her, wanting to be sensitive, but really needing to knock this girl back to reality if they were gonna get out of this.

"Okay," Emily said softly.

"Now, we can destroy the scarecrow, but we gotta find the tree," Dean said.

"What tree?" Emily asked.

"Maybe you can help us with that," Dean said. "It would be really old. The locals would treat it with a lot of respect, you know, like it was sacred."

"There was this one apple tree," Emily said, everything starting to click slowly into place. "The immigrants brought it over with them. They call it the First Tree."

"Is it in the orchard?" Shia asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know where," Emily said. Before they could ask more, the cellar door swung open, Harley, Stacey, Scotty and the sheriff stood in front of them.

"It's time," Stacey said. All Dean, Shia and Emily could do was exchange a nervous glance, the shotguns aimed their way stopping them from making a quick escape.

Making sure their victims couldn't escape, Harley, Stacey, Scotty and the Sheriff tied Dean, Shia and Emily to two trees in the orchard.

"How many people have you killed, Sheriff?" Dean asked him as he tied his hands together. "How much blood is on your hands?"

"We don't kill them," the Sheriff answered.

"No, but you sure cover up after," Shia said as she was tied beside Dean, their hands locked together. "I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?"

The Sheriff had no answer for them this time. He just walked away, letting Harley and Stacey finish tying Emily to the other tree.

"Uncle Harley, please," Emily sobbed.

"I am so sorry, Em," Harley told her. "I wish it wasn't you."

"Try to understand. It's our responsibility," Stacey said. "And there's just no other choice. There's nobody else but you."

"I'm your family," Emily told her.

"Sweetheart, that's what sacrifice means. Giving up something you love for the greater good," Stacey said, tears now springing to her eyes. "The town needs to be safe. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one."

With that final statement, the four walked away from their sacrifices.

"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean screamed after them.

"So, what's the plan?" Emily asked, calming down a little.

"I'm workin' on it," Dean said.

However, hours later, once darkness had fallen, they were still tied in the same positions.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Emily said.

"I'm workin' on it," Dean said yet again.

"Please. 'I'm working on it' my ass," Shia muttered out from beside him.

"Can you see?" Dean asked Emily, ignoring Shia's comment.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Is he moving yet?" Dean asked.

"I can't see," Emily said craning her neck. That statement was soon questioned as she did see something. A shadow moving their way through the trees.

"Oh my God. Oh my God!" Emily sobbed out. Hearing the fear and panic in her voice, Dean and Shia pulled harder on their ropes, trying to free themselves to no avail. It didn't matter though, because the shadow was now standing beside them.

And it was Sam.

"Dean? Shia?" he said, the pair breathing a heavy sigh of relief.

"Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you," Dean said as Sam began to untie them. "Come on."

"How in the hell did you get here?" Shia asked, not that it really mattered how right now.

"I, uh…. I stole a car," Sam answered almost nervously.

"Ha ha! That's my boy!" Dean said as Sam finished untying them. "And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute."

"What scarecrow?" Sam said. Now free from their ties, Dean and Shia jumped to their feet to see the scarecrow post already empty. Too late.

Making quick work of the ropes round Emily's wrist, the four now started running quickly through the orchard, eager to get out of here before the scarecrow came jumping out of the shadows.

"Alright, now, this sacred tree you're talking about…." Sam started.

"It's the source of its power," Shia explained.

"So let's find it and burn it," Sam said.

"Nah, in the morning," Dean said. "Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up."

But they didn't get too far as they ran into a clearing and came face to face with townspeople and shotguns aimed their way.

"This way," Dean said, turning the group in the opposite direction. But it was no use. They were surrounded from all angles.

"Please. Let us go," Emily begged of her aunt and uncle.

"It'll be over quickly, I promise," Harley told her.

"Please," Emily continued to beg.

"Emily, you have to let him take you. You have to…."

Harley's words were quickly cut off as the elusive scarecrow appeared behind him, piercing his sickle through his stomach while at the same time capturing a screaming Stacey and dragging them away. Emily herself screamed, turning and running into the nearest pair of arms, which happened to be Dean's.

Not wanting to be the next victims, the rest of the townspeople ran, fleeing in fright.

"Come on, let's go," Dean said, the four of the running for the exit now they could. Turning once they were out of the gates, the group found nothing but empty space and silence. The scarecrow, along with Harley and Stacey, was long gone.

Next morning, Sam, Dean, Shia and Emily were ready to get this over and done with for good. With gasoline and a lighter, they stood in front of the sacred tree Emily had led them to. While Sam poured gasoline over the trees surface, Shia picked up a long branch from the floor, Dean lighting the end.

"Let me," Emily said, reaching out to take the branch from Shia.

"You know, the whole town's gonna die, right?," Shia told her.

"Good," Emily said, throwing the lit branch onto the tree, standing back with the trio as the tree, as well as the towns future, burnt to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes.

With no home and no family left, Emily was now prepared to make it on her own. Climbing onto a bus for Boston, Emily turned one last time, looking out of the window at Sam, Dean and Shia watching her leave. Taking her seat on the bus as it drove off, Emily smiled a thankful smile at Dean and Shia, a small wave from both of them given in return being the last thing she saw.

"Think she's gonna be alright?" Sam asked.

"I hope so," Dean replied.

"And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?" Sam said.

"Well, what'll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough," Shia told him.

"So, can I drop you off somewhere?" Dean asked Sam as they walked back towards the car.

"No, I think you're stuck with me," Sam said as they stopped beside the car. The next thing he knew, Shia had jumped into his arms, a wide smile plastered across her face as she hugged him tightly.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.

"I didn't. I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass," Sam said, dropping Shia to her feet again as Dean nodded. "But, Jess and Mom… they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. Us three. We're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together."

For a second, there was a pause between the three, Dean staring up at Sam.

"Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful," he replied sarcastically, placing his hand against Sam's shoulder. Sam just pushed him away, the three laughing as they starting climbing back into the car.

"You should be kissing my ass," Sam said. "You were dead meat, dude."

"Yeah, right. I had a plan, I'd have gotten out," Dean said.

"Right. That would be what, the tenth time you've said 'I had a plan'? We were going to die, Dean." Shia said smirking at Dean, with a small laugh, Sam followed the two into the car, things are how they should be again.


	11. Chapter 11: Faith (1x12)

On their latest hunt, Sam, Dean and Shia now find themselves in front of an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Inside was a monster, a rawhead, who had taken two young children. And it was their job to get them back.

Taking out the demon the only way they knew how, Dean pulled three tasers out of the trunk.

"What do you got those amped up to?" Sam asked as Dean handed one each to him and Shia.

"A hundred thousand volts," Dean answered.

"Damn, pretty high," Shia said.

"Yeah, I want this rawhead extra frickin' crispy. And remember, you only get one shot with these things. So make it count," Dean told them as he made his way into the house, before he did Shia grabbed his arm. Dean turned to look at her.

"What, baby? Is something wrong?" Dean asked giving his girlfriend a concerned look.

"Just be careful, Dean. I have a bad feeling about this," Shia said before heading into house, this time Dean grabbed her arm. "What, Dean?" Dean pulled her close a gave her a loving kiss.

"I'm always careful, baby."

"Would you guys come on already?" Sam asked, Dean and Shia smiled at each other and walked over to Sam.

Walking cautiously down the stairs, guns and flashlight high in front of them, a noise knocked all their attention to a small cupboard.

"On three," Dean whispered to the other two. "One. Two. Three."

Pulling the cupboard roughly open, the trio came face to face with two very scared kids, cowering in the tight space.

"Is it still here?" Sam asked, to which the children merely nodded, unable to speak through fear.

"Okay. Grab your sister's hand," Shia said softly to the little boy. "Come on, we gotta get you out of here. Let's go, let's go."

Gently pushing the children in front of them, Sam, Dean and Shia led them towards the stairs.

"Alright, go!" Shia called to them, watching as the pair starting to flee up the stairs. Sam, who wasn't too far behind them, didn't get any closer to the exit himself as a hand snaked through the railing of the stairs, grabbing his leg and dragging him back down.

"Sam!" Shia screamed out as she moved to the other side of the staircase, coming face to face with the rawhead and shooting immediately. The monster, however, had seen it coming and ducked out of the way, Shia's one and only shot missing.

"Sam, get 'em outta here!" Dean yelled, motioning up to the kids.

"You take this!" Sam called back, throwing his own tazer down, which Shia easily caught, dropping her useless one. With Sam getting the kids safely outside, Dean and Shia were left to take down this monster.

"Come on," he called into the basement, his flashlight flicking over box after box after... demon!

As his flashlight beam illuminated the creature's features, Dean aimed his gun, but not quick enough. Before Dean could get a shot off, the demon flew at him, flinging him across the room where he landed in a puddle of water in the corner.

Coming up the other side, Shia took her own shot at the demon again. The demon, however, was already charging at her. Her aim on a fast moving object not perfect, Shia's second shot missed, the creature knocking her aside as it made it's way to Dean. She was merely a distraction.

Seeing the creature loam over him, Dean scrambled for the only working gun, taking aim at the creature. But he failed to see what Shia did.

The creature was standing in the same puddle of water Dean was lay in.

"Dean, no!" Shia screamed to him, but it was too late. Dean had taken his shot and hit, electrocuting the demon. The high current flowed through the creature, into the puddle... and into Dean.

While the creature collapsed to the floor, dead, Dean twitched and shuddered against the heavy flow of electricity working it's way through his body.

"Dean, baby!" Shia screamed out again, running across the room as her boyfriend fell into unconsciousness.

The kids safe upstairs, Sam chose now to run back into the basement, seeing the sight before him. Dean unconscious in a puddle of water with Shia at his, barely able to control her tears.

"Dean!" Sam cried out as he dropped to the floor by their side. "Dean, hey. Hey."

Sam shook his brother, trying to bring him to, but it wasn't working.

"What happened?" Sam asked a now near hysterical Shia.

"The rawhead," Shia sobbed out through her shaking and tears. "Dean shot it with the taser but it backfired, travelled through the water. I tried to stop him but..."

"Shia, its okay," Sam said softly, trying to calm her down some. "Calm down. We just gotta get him to a hospital."

All Shia could do was nod, wipe at her tears, and hope to God Sam was right. She couldn't lose her boyfriend, he means so much to her.

After piling Dean into the car and breaking every known speed limit, Sam and Shia had taken Dean to the nearest hospital. And, having to take care of the frightened children as well, a shaken Shia was stood in front of two police officers, her arms wrapped tight round herself, while Sam stood at the reception desk, sorting out Dean's admittance.

"Sir, I'm so sorry to ask. There doesn't seem to be any insurance on file," the receptionist told him.

"Right. Uh, okay," Sam said distractedly, taking a card from his wallet and handing it to her.

"Okay, Mr. Burkovitz," the receptionist said with a smile. Sam tried his best to smile in response as he moved away from her, standing by Shia and the officer. Seeing the way Shia was stood, Sam slipped his arm round her comfortingly, pulling her into his side.

"Look, we can finish this up later," the officer said, like Sam, obviously seeing the distraught state Shia was in.

"No, no, it's okay," Sam said, wanting to get through the story as quick as possible. "We were just taking a shortcut through the neighbourhood. And, um, the windows were rolled down, we heard some screaming. We drove past the house, and we stopped. Ran in."

"And you found the kids in the basement?" the officer asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"Well, thank God you did," the officer said. Behind him, Sam noticed Dean's doctor making his way towards them.

"Excuse me," Sam said to the officers.

"Sure. Thanks for your help," the officer said as Sam led Shia over to the doctor.

"Hey, Doc. Is he..." Sam said.

"He's resting," the doctor finished for him

"And?" Sam said, urging him to continue.

"The electrocution triggered a heart attack," the doctor said. "Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart... it's damaged."

"How damaged?" Sam asked.

"We've done all we can," the doctor said, his tone showing pure sympathy for them. "We can try and keep him comfortable at this point. But, I'd give him a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month."

"What? No. No. Oh God No.," Shia muttered, uttering her first words since they had entered the hospital, her tears now flowing freely as she buried herself against Sam's chest, his arms wrapping round her.

"There's... there's gotta be something you can do," Sam said, pushing back his own tears. "Some kind of treatment."

"We can't work miracles. I really am sorry," the doctor said, leaving the two stood in the hallway, Shia sobbing in his arms and letting her tears flow freely while Sam adamantly kept his trapped behind his eyes. This time, it was his turns to be the strong brother, if not for the sake of his own sanity.

In his own private hospital room, Dean was sat with the remote in hand, flicking through the channels of daytime TV. When Sam and Shia came in, and he looked up at him, Sam's battle against tears almost ended. The guy lay in that bed did not look like his brother. His wasn't strong and full of life anymore, but the total opposite. He was pale and drawn, dark circles under his eyes. Shia's strangled sob told Sam the same thoughts were running through her head. She had calmed down slightly, stopped crying, but Sam knew she could start again any minute. And he didn't blame her.

"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV?" Dean said once they entered, trying to lighten the mood as always. "It's terrible."

"We talked to your doctor," Sam said with a sigh.

"That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down," Dean continued, adamantly ignoring Sam.

"Dean," Sam said again, making sure he couldn't ignore him anymore as he looked up at them.

"Yeah," Dean said, turning off the TV. "Alright, well, looks like you guys are gonna leave town without me."

"What are you talking about?" Sam said. "We're not gonna leave you here."

"Hey, you guys better take care of that car," Dean continued in his joke filled manner. "Or, I swear, I'll haunt your asses. And Sam, you take care of my girl. You two should get married and carry on the Winchester name. Make sure to name your first son after me."

"It's not funny, asshole," Shia said, wanting to bust into full out tears with each word Dean said, or each stupid joke he made at his own expensive, when all Shia wanted was his reassurance. For him to tell her this was nothing, that he was gonna be fine and they would be on the road as a group again in no time.

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny," Dean told her, a thick silence now hanging in the air between them. "Look, what can I say?" Dean continued, the jokes going out of the window at the looks on his brother and girlfriend's faces. "It's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."

"Don't talk like that, alright?" Sam said. "We still have options."

"What options?" Dean said, beginning to get a little angry with the two for not understanding. "Yeah, burial or cremation."

"Wonderful," Shia said, the new tears she had been so strongly pushing aside springing back to the front. "You know I hate you right now..."

Not needing Dean to see her cry right now, Shia ran from the room before the sobbing took over her body, Sam and Dean's eyes on her the whole time. Dean had seen the look in her eyes when she had ran, even though she tried to hide it from him. And the minute he had, he regretted his words.

"She took the words right out of my mouth," Sam said, turning back to his brother, his own voice beginning to take on a hint of anger now. Dean continued to stare at the door for a second longer as if staring that intently would someone make Shia walk back through it without those horrible tears he had caused behind her eyes.

"Look," Dean said, his voice a little softer now. "I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you guys can't stop it."

"Watch us," Sam said, sweeping out of the door after Shia. And if he hadn't stopped abruptly, he probably would have tripped over her. She was sat on the floor, her head in her knees to capture the tears.

"Shia?" he said softly, making her look up at him with the tears still streaming down her face.

"How can he be such a dick about it Sam?" she said to him. "He's dying. And he's right. What can we do to save him?"

Watching her break gently again, Sam sat on the floor beside her, pulling her closer to him and letting her cry in his arms again.

"I'll find a way to save him. I promise," Sam whispered to her after a minute, adamant that he would do it. He pulled away slightly, making Shia look up at him. "I'm going back to the motel. What do you want to do?"

"I wanna stay here with him, I need to talk to him," she said softly.

"Okay," Sam said, pressing a gentle kiss on his best friend's forehead, the only woman in the world both brothers would always care about and do practically anything for. With a comforting smile her way, Sam left the hospital, leaving Shia in exactly the same position.

For a moment, Shia stayed where she was. What exactly was she gonna do if she walked back in that room?

One of the reasons she wasn't jumping up to go back in that room with him, alone, was because she couldn't see him like that again. This was Dean Winchester, the guy despite everything that had happened in his family, had always stood strong. He had always been there for Shia, ready to save her life or pick her up when she was down. And now, in a month's time, Shia wasn't gonna have that anymore. He'd be gone, and she honestly didn't know just how well she'd cope without him by her side.

Wiping at the stray tears that had leaked from her eyes, Shia stood, staring at the door that now separated her and Dean. With a deep sigh, Shia pushed it open, Dean looking up at her as she just stood in the doorway. And the eyes that stared back at her broke Shia inside even more. They weren't Dean anymore. Eyes that usually held such light and laughter, eyes that gave her strength, were now dark and weary, holding no strength of their own.

"You gonna come in or what?" Dean finally said into the silence. Slowly, Shia did just that, gently lowering herself onto the edge of the bed beside Dean.

"I'm sorry," Dean said so quietly, Shia almost didn't hear him.

"For what, Dean?" she asked.

"Everything that's happened," Dean said. "It's all gotta be my fault somehow."

"The only thing you have to apologize for is the way you're talking about all this," Shia told him.

"What, you mean being truthful?"

"No, I mean being a total dick. Not caring how it sounds to me and Sam."

"What do you mean, Sam? He didn't say a thing."

"And he won't. He wants to be brave in front of his big brother. He's not gonna say how much this scares him. How much this scares both of us. You need to think how this is for me and Sam."

"Oh, well I'm sorry if I didn't stop to consider how you guys felt in all this!" Dean said, the anger hitting his voice again.

"There you go again," Shia said, anger now taking over her fears and tears. "Not thinking before you open your mouth."

"I'm not really bothered about that right now Shia," Dean told her. "After all, I'm gonna be six feet under in a month."

"Stop," Shia screamed, jumping off the bed and turning her back on him. "Just stop it! Please Dean."

Her shoulders shaking slightly told Dean that once again, tears were streaking down Shia's cheeks. And just the amount of times she had been crying over him told Dean just how much she was hurting over this. For the second time, he regretted the words that had moments ago left his mouth.

"Shia, babe," Dean said, making her turn to him. He was sat up, his arms spread out to her. "Come here."

Needing more than anything the overwhelming comfort she always got from Dean, Shia crossed the room in one bound and buried herself in his arms, crying against his chest.

"I love you, Dean," Shia mumbled into his chest. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Dean said nothing. He just wrapped his arms tighter round Shia, trying to comfort her. He knew how much this must have been getting to Sam and Shia, he had seen it on their faces. But what neither of them knew was just how tough it was for him. He didn't want to die, and the idea that he might was actually scaring him. But Dean didn't get scared. He had to stay strong for Sam and Shia. So what did he do when he was scared? He made jokes, he laughed it off. He didn't think how much this was hurting the others around him.

While his girl cried in his arms, Dean couldn't stop the single tear that slid down his face.

"Dean?" Shia said looking at Dean. He gave her a weak smile.

"Yeah?" he said.

"If you ever put the word 'Sam and Marriage and Me and Children' in the same sentence again, I'll be pissed." Dean laughed at a little at his girlfriend's comment.

As they continue to cuddle on the hospital bed, a nurse walked in the room, almost disappointed that Dean had a women in bed with him.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but what is your relationship to the patient?" The nurse asked with a friendly smile, Shia looked at her and can see right through her bull.

"I'm his wife, the mother of his child," Shia said walking over to her purse to pull out a picture of herself when she was a baby; she had puffy, curly black hair and light brown skin. The nurse looked at the picture and smiled.

"You have a beautiful baby. How old is she?"

"She's turning two next month," Dean said lying smoothly, Shia turned to Dean and have him a smile; Dean looked at her and gave her a wink. "Baby, you should go home and feed her and her cousin, Sammy."

"Right, Dean, I should get going. Don't want my baby getting hungry at home," Shia said grabbing her purse and leaving. Shia got to the impala, Sam must have walked to the motel they were in. It wasn't far from the hospital. Shia was about to start the car when someone knocked on the car door, she turned to get a look at the person, she saw a fully clothed Dean standing outside the car giving her a weak grin. Shia rolled down the window, and looked at her silly boyfriend.

"Dean, what the hell are you doing? You're supposed to be resting!" Shia said to her boyfriend. Dean walked slowly around the car to the passenger seat, opened the door and got in.

"Just drive, woman. I'm not dying in no hospital," Dean said closing his eyes to the sound of the impala engine running.

Back in the silence of the empty motel room, Sam sat on his bed as always surrounded by research. But today was a different kind of research. Today he was surrounded by books and leaflets on heart care. But, Sam being Sam and what they did, it wasn't doctors that were solving his problems. It was his father's journal.

Speaking of his father, Sam thought now was the time to try and get in touch with him, tell him what was wrong with his son. Even if he knew he'd never get an answer.

"This is John Winchester," his father's voicemail spoke to him, proving Sam right. "I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 866-907-3235. He can help."

As the beep sounded in his ear, Sam for about the third time today tried to push back his tears as he started telling his dad just what this call was about.

"Hey, Dad. It's Sam," Sam began, his voice already staring to break as his pent up emotions got on top of him." Uh... you probably won't even get this, but, uh... It's Dean. He's sick, and uh... the doctors say there's nothing they can do. Um... but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right? So, don't worry, cause, uh... I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright... just wanted you to know."

Hanging up, Sam tossed the phone onto the bed across from him. Now he was alone, he could fell the tears beginning to spring to the front of his eyes. Shia had been at the hospital since Sam had left, and he didn't figure she'd be coming back anytime soon. So now was the time when he could really let his emotions take over.

Since he had left the hospital, he had been trying his hardest not to think of Dean and just what would happen if they didn't fix this. Because the last thing that could happen right now is that he could lose his brother. He had just found him again, started to be a proper family with him and Shia, and now they knew for sure their father was alive, even if they had no idea where he was. Now was the worst possible time for all this to go wrong.

A knock on the door meant his emotions had to take a back seat again. The only person that could be was Shia, and he had to be strong for her sake right now. He knew this was just as tough on her, maybe worse. Sam knew just how much she loved Dean.

Opening the door, he did come face to face with Shia, only she wasn't alone. She had Dean leaning against her side, looking even worse, if that was possible.

"He wouldn't listen to me. And how can I say 'no' to that handsome face?" Shia said as if in answer.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked his brother.

"I checked myself out," Dean said, stepping past Sam and into the motel room.

"What, are you crazy?" Sam said to him.

"Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot," Dean said with a slight shrug.

"Why the hell would you care if the nurses were hot? I would be pissed at that comment but you're sick," Shia told him, making Sam laugh as he closed the door behind them.

"You know, this whole 'I-Laugh-In-The-Face-Of-Death' thing?" Sam told his brother. "It's crap. I can see right through it."

"Yeah, whatever, dude," Dean said as Shia helped her weakened boyfriend into a nearby chair. "Have you even slept? You look worse than me."

"I've been scouring the Internet for the last three days," Sam told him. "Calling every contact in Dad's journal."

"For what?" Dean asked.

"For a way to help you. One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist."

"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?"

"I'm not gonna let you die, period. We're going."

Dean didn't give Sam an answer. Instead, he turned to Shia, who was staring at him, smiling almost pleadingly. She wanted him to do this, didn't want to lose him.

And that was the only reason he gave in.

"Shia?" Dean asked as he watched his girlfriend pack their bags.

"What, handsome?"

"You know since I'm sick, I can't be on top like I want to,"

"Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" Shia asked turning to Dean, he gave her a look and motioned to the bed. "My God, Dean. Even when you're sick you're a pervert." Dean let out a weak laugh, how can this girl make him happy during this dark time in his life?

In Nebraska, Sam's idea of a specialist was a tent with the words 'The Church of Roy LeGrange Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle', written across the top and a group of very sick looking people making their way inside.

Pulling their car up outside, Sam and Shia were out first, stepping round the car to help Dean out of the car with a slight grunt of pain.

"I got it," Dean said, shrugging away from Sam and Shia's hands. "Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor."

"I believe I said a specialist," Sam half-joked. "Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."

"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent," Dean said.

"Reverend LeGrange is a great man," an elderly woman with an eavesdropping ear said as she past them.

"Yeah, that's nice," Dean grated out. Still walking towards the tent, Sam, Dean and Shia past another member of the crowd, this guy with a very different opinion to the old woman.

"I have a right to protest," the man called out. "This man is a fraud. And he's bilking all these people out of their hard-earned money."

"Sir, this is a place of worship," a sheriff said as he and his partner walked the man away from the tent. "Let's go. Move it."

"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean said.

"When people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam said.

"I mean, come on, Sam, a faith healer?" Dean grated out to his brother.

"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, babe," Shia said, adding her opinion.

"You know what I've got faith in?" Dean told the pair. "Reality. Knowing what's really going on."

"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday?" Sam asked.

"Exactly," Dean said, as if Sam was making his point for him instead of against him. "We see them, we know they're real."

"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there, too?" Shia said.

"Because I've seen what evil does to good people," Dean told them.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways," another crowd member said, turning to them. This one was a pretty young blonde woman.

"Maybe he does," Dean said. "I think you just turned me around on the subject."

"Uh huh," Shia said with a roll of her eyes as the girl smiled and Dean extended his hand to her.

"I'm Dean. This is Sam and Shia."

"Layla," the young girl said, taking Dean's offered hand. "So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"

"Well, apparently these two here believe enough for the lot of us," Dean told her.

"If this works, I'm so slapping Dean later," Shia whispered to Sam as Layla's mother walked up to her daughter.

"Come on, Layla. It's about to start," she said, guiding her daughter away with a wave goodbye.

"Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways," Dean joked. Sam just smiled slightly, knowing his brother, while Shia glared and poked him gently in the arm, guiding him towards the tent as Mrs Rourke had with Layla.

Inside the tent there was already a large group of people sat waiting for the service to begin, while Dean's eyes immediately went to the security camera's in the corners.

"Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over," Dean said, pointing out the camera's to Sam and Shia. Dean carried on walking further into the tent, heading towards a seat in the back.

"Come on," Sam said, pushing Dean further towards the front.

"What are you doing? Let's sit here," Dean said.

"We're sitting up front," Sam told him.

"What? Why?"

"Come on."

"Oh, come on, guys." But despite is protests, Dean was still led towards the front, Sam and Shia trying to help him.

"Are you alright?" Shia asked.

"This is ridiculous. I'm good, get off me," Dean said, pushing away from the pair as they came to three seats close to the front behind Layla and her mother.

"Perfect," Sam said of the seats.

"Yeah, perfect," Dean said with next to no emotion.

"You take the aisle," Sam told him, the three sitting in their seats just as their host, Roy LeGrange, walked onto stage, dark glasses over his blind eyes.

"Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?" Roy called out to the very agreeable crowd. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act."

As he spoke, Sam looked up at the table behind Roy, noticing the items on it. It was filled with crosses and religious items, one in particular catching his attention. It was a cross with a smaller one on top of it, the smaller one inside a circle.

"But, I say to you, God is watching. God rewards the good, and He punishes the corrupt," Roy continued to the crowd who were agreeing with and believing his every word. "Who does the healing here, friends? The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."

"Yeah, or into their wallets," Dean muttered quietly just to Sam and Shia.

"You think so, young man?" Roy said to Dean, the rest of the church going silent.

"Sorry," Dean said, embarrassed.

"No, no. Don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man, we've got real sharp ears," Roy said, making his followers laugh. "What's your name, son?"

"Dean," Dean answered after a slight hesitation.

"Dean. I want... I want you to come up here with me," Roy said, his wife Sue Ann getting onto the stage to welcome Dean up while the crowd cheered in excitement, Layla and her mother the only ones not joining in with the cheers but looking upset at the news.

"No, that's ok," Dean yelled over the noise.

"What the hell are you doing? Go up there," Shia said to him.

"You've come here to be healed, haven't you?" Roy said.

"Well, yeah, but..." Dean began, his voice beginning to get drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. "No, maybe you should just pick someone else."

"Oh, no, I didn't pick you, Dean," Roy said over the claps. "The Lord did."

"Get up there!" Sam said, pushing a reluctant and uncomfortable looking Dean up to the stage.

"You ready?" Roy asked him.

"Look, no disrespect, but I'm not exactly a believer," Dean said to Roy.

"You will be, son. You will be," Roy said before turning to the crowd. "Pray with me, friends."

The crowd lifted their hands into the air, following Roy's lead. Roy reached out his hand feeling for Dean's shoulder, Dean looking just as nervous as the anxious Sam and Shia in the crowd.

"Alright, now. Alright, now," Roy said, moving his hand to Dean's forehead as he worked his healing magic.

The crowd, which of course included Sam and Shia, watched as Dean began to look weak and dizzy, his eyes closes and his legs falling from under him as he fell to his knees. Roy kept his hand against Dean's forehead, almost guiding him down as he collapsed to the floor. The crowd cheered and clapped, seeing something Sam and Shia weren't as they became scared.

"Dean!" Shia called out, her and Sam racing to the stage. Shia knelt beside Dean, shaking him slightly until he woke with a heavy gasp.

"Say something," Shia said to him. But Dean remained silent, in shock over what had just happened. His blurry vision focusing slowly, Dean's eyes fell on someone new in the room. An old man, his face grey and dead and his hair white, was stood behind Roy dressed in a suit. His eyes landed on Dean before vanishing, leaving Dean even more shocked.

Back at the dreaded hospital for a second time, Dean now looked a little different. He was sat up on an examination table, looking as well as he always did, while Sam and Shia stood beside him.

"Babe, do you really feel okay?" Shia asked almost expectantly.

"I feel fine, Shia," Dean assured her as the nurse walked back into the room, Dean's papers in her hand.

"Well, according to all your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was," the nurse said, getting two totally different reactions from the people in front of her. Sam and Shia seemed almost ecstatic, happy to have their brother and boyfriend back, while Dean simply looked curious, almost worried about the news.

"Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble," the nurse continued. "But still, it's strange it does happen."

"What do you mean, strange?" Dean asked.

"Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack," the nurse said, making Dean look concerned again.

"Thanks, Doc," he said.

"Oh, no problem," she said with a slight smile as she left.

"That's odd," Dean said to Sam and Shia once she was gone.

"Maybe it's a coincidence," Sam suggested. "People's hearts give out all the time, man"

"No, they don't," Dean argued back.

"Look, babe, do we really have to look this one in the mouth?" Shia said hopefully. "Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?"

"Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why," Dean said.

"What feeling?" Shia asked, she didn't know why she all of the sudden became annoyed why Dean.

"When I was healed, I just... I felt wrong," Dean said. "I felt cold. And for a second, I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I'm telling you, it was a spirit."

"But if there was something there, Dean, I think I would've seen it, too," Sam said. "I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately."

"Well, excuse me, psychic wonder," Dean said, his voice only half joking. "But you're just gonna need a little faith on this one. Sam, I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."

At Dean's words, Sam and Shia exchanged a look. Dean was fine now, not gonna die, and they just wanted to get out of this place. The two of them were almost over the moon that Dean wasn't gonna die, absolutely ready to take all this on faith, where as Dean was just trying to rationalise everything. Almost as if he was looking for reasons to get out of this, to be a month away from death again.

"Yeah, alright," Sam said, him and Shia giving in to Dean's wishes. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I want you to go check out the heart attack guy. I'm gonna visit the reverend," Dean told them.

"Alone?" Shia asked.

"Yeah, you go with Sam," Dean said grabbing his jacket.

"Whatever," Shia said as she walked past Dean.

"What did I do this time?" Dean asked his little brother. "Is she pissed at me or something?" Sam simply shrugged walking out the door.

Dean stopped the car at the gym that the guy with the heart attack worked out. Sam got out the car walking into the gym, but Shia remained sitting in her seat.

"Aren't you going to get out?" Dean asked.

"No, I'm coming with you," Shia said looking everywhere but in Dean's direction. Dean sighed deeply not wanting to start an argument with his girlfriend, he wanted to do anything but make her mad. He doesn't want her pissed at him for the rest of the week, I mean he likes to spoon at night but when she's pissed they keep their distance in the bed.

Going their separate ways for their separate jobs, Shia had not gone with Sam like Dean had originally suggested. Instead she was now sat with him in Reverend Roy LeGrange's house.

"I feel great," Dean told the reverend. "Just trying to, you know, make sense of what happened."

"A miracle is what happened," Sue Ann said from beside her husband. "Well, miracles come so often around Roy."

"When did these miracles start?," Shia asked Roy.

"Woke up one morning, stone blind," Roy began to tell them. "Doctors figured out I had cancer. Told me I had maybe a month. So, uh, we prayed for a miracle. Now, I was weak, but I told Sue Ann, 'You just keep right on praying'. I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up, but I did. And the cancer was gone."

Ending his story, Roy removed his sunglasses to reveal his white, blind eyes.

"If it wasn't for these eyes, no one would believe I'd ever had it," Roy said.

"And all of the sudden you could heal people," Shia added.

"I discovered it afterward, yes," Roy said. "God's blessed me in many ways."

"And his flock just swelled overnight," Sue Ann said proudly. "And this is just the beginning."

"Can I ask you one last question?" Dean said.

"Of course you can," Roy answered in his cheerful tone.

"Why?" Dean asked. "Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"

"Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me," Roy said. "I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest."

"What did you see in my heart?" Dean asked.

"A young man with an important purpose," Roy said. "A job to do. And it isn't finished."

Shia smiled at Roy's words, seeing just how true they actually were. Dean on the other hand, couldn't see. Roy's words simply surprised, even confused him further.

Doing his end of the job, Sam was at the local gym talking to a friend of Marshall Hall, the heart attack victim.

"I'm telling you, he seemed healthy," the man told him. "Swam every day, didn't smoke. So, a heart attack just kind of seemed, well, bizarre."

"And you said he was running, right before he collapsed?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, yeah, he was freaking out. He said that something was, uh, was after him."

"Did he say what?"

"Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn't anything."

Sam thought on his words for a moment, taking them in, and thinking about just what Dean had said to. The invisible man on the stage only he seemed able to see.

"Alright, thanks," Sam said, turning to leave before he noticed a clock on the wall above him, the hands still. "Hey, buddy? Your, uh, your clock's busted."

"Oh, yeah, we, uh, can't get it workin'," the man said. "Just froze at 4:17."

"Is that the same time Marshall died?" Sam guessed.

"How'd you know?" the guy asked. Sam didn't answer. He just stored this piece of information away with all the others, new ideas coming to his mind.

Back at Reverend LeGrange's house, Dean and Shia were leaving just as Layla and her mother were heading towards the house.

"Dean, Shia, hey," Layla greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hey," Dean replied.

"How you feeling?" Layla asked.

"I feel good. Cured, I guess," Dean answered. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, my mom, she wanted to talk to the reverend," Layla said as Sue Ann came outside.

"Layla?" she greeted.

"Yes, I'm here again," Layla said with another smile.

"Well, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting, and he won't be seeing anyone else right now," Sue Ann said.

"Sue Ann, please," Mrs Rourke almost begged. "This is our sixth time, he's got to see us."

"Roy is well aware of Layla's situation," Sue Ann told her. "And he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke."

With these final words, Sue Ann walked back inside the house. Alone, Mrs Rourke now turned her attention on Dean, visibly upset.

"Why are you still even here?" Mrs Rourke asked him, anger also in her voice. "You got what you wanted."

"Mom. Stop," Layla said.

"No, Layla, this is too much," Mrs Rourke said. "We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you. Strangers who don't even believe. I just can't pray any harder."

"What's wrong, Layla?" Shia asked her.

"I have this thing..." Layla said slowly, her words trailing off.

"It's a brain tumor," Mrs Rourke continued for her. "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say..."

As her mothers words trailed off, Layla put her hand against her shoulder, comforting her mother.

"I'm sorry," Dean said softly.

"It's okay," Layla said.

"No. It isn't," Mrs Rourke said before turning to Dean. "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?"

Mrs Rourke walked away, her daughter following her with tears in her eyes. Dean watched after them for a moment, thinking the exact same thing Mrs Rourke had just put out in the open.

Still distracted thinking about it, Dean walked back towards the car, Shia behind him. While Shia pulled her door open, Dean paused slightly, staring at nothing.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Shia asked him.

"I'm fine," Dean said, clearly covering something.

"Yeah, right," Shia said. "I know you, babe. Something's up."

Dean paused, again looking away and at anything but his girlfriend.

"I'm just thinking... maybe Mrs Rourke was right," Dean said finally. "What is so important about me that I deserve to live over everyone else back there? Over Layla?"

"Dean, don't," Shia said softly.

"But I'm right," Dean said. "What makes me so important?"

"What makes you so important is exactly what Roy said about you," Shia told him.

"Come on, babe. You know that was just bull," Dean said.

"No, it wasn't," Shia said adamantly.

"How can you be so sure?" Dean asked her.

"Because he saw what I see everyday Dean," Shia told him. "What I see beneath what you show the world. Everything you do for these complete strangers, all the lives you've saved. Dean, you are the most amazing guy I have ever met."

Walking closer to Dean, Shia gently took hold of his hands. And as she looked up at him, Dean could see her eyes glistening slightly.

"I trust in your instincts," Shia continued. "I really do. But... Dean, I'm not gonna be upset that the man I love is still alive. I'm just not. You can't expect me to."

As she spoke, Dean looked deep into her eyes, seeing her like he always did. Shia truly meant every word she said. She believed in him, in what she saw inside him. And Dean loved the way she saw him, the way she had faith in him when he wasn't even sure he had faith in himself. That faith she had in him was almost overwhelming and he couldn't see where she had got it from, why she had. But he was glad she had it.

Pulling her closer to him, Dean wrapped her in a tight hug, Shia arms almost instinctively wrapping themselves round him as she hugged him back.

"I don't," Dean whispered softly to her.

Back at the motel room, Sam was sat in front of his laptop when Dean and Shia walked back in.

"What'd you find out?" Dean asked.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, a sad look on his face.

"Sorry about what?" Dean asked.

"Marshall Hall died at 4:17," Sam told them.

"The exact time I was healed," Dean added.

"Yeah. So, I put together a list of everyone Roy's healed, six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits," Sam said, handing Dean and Shia a pile of research. "Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."

"Someone's healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer? That is messed up," Shia said.

"Somehow," Sam said. "LeGrange, he's trading a life for another."

"Wait, wait, wait. So, Marshall Hall died to save me?" Dean said.

"Dean, the guy probably would've died anyway," Sam said. "And someone else would've been healed."

"You never should've brought me here," Dean told them.

"Honey, we were just trying to save your life," Shia said.

"But some guy is dead now because of me," Dean argued.

"We didn't know," Shia argued back.

"The thing I don't understand is how is Roy doing it?" Sam said. "How's he trading a life for a life?"

"Oh, he's not doing it," Dean said. "Something else is doing it for him."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"The old man I saw on stage," Dean said. "I didn't wanna believe it, but deep down I knew it."

"You knew what?" Shia asked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"There's only one thing that can give and take life like that," Dean said, to which Sam and Shia simply looked confused. "We're dealing with a reaper."

"You really think it's the Grim Reaper?" Shia said after letting the information sink in. "Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"

"No, no, no. Not the Reaper, a reaper," Dean said. "There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth. Go by a hundred different names. It's possible that there's more than one of 'em."

"But you said you saw a dude in a suit," Sam said.

"Well, what, do you think he should've been workin' the whole black robe thing? You said it yourself that the clock stopped, right?" Dean said, holding up on of the information sheet he had. "Reapers stop time. And you can only see 'em when they're comin' at you, which is why I could see it and you couldn't."

"Maybe," Sam said.

"There's nothing else it could be," Dean said. "The question is how's Roy controllin' the damn thing?"

"That cross," Sam said, more to himself than the others.

"What?" Dean asked.

"There was this cross. I noticed it in the church tent, I knew I had seen it before," Sam clarified while shuffling through the papers in front of him. Picking one from the pile, Sam handed it to Dean and Shia. On it was a drawing of a skeleton, a drown on it's head and the cross Sam had seen in the corner.

"A tarot?" Dean questioned.

"It makes sense," Sam said. "I mean, tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff. Necromancy, and how to push death away, how to cause it."

"So, Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper?" Shia put before the group.

"If he is, he's riding the whirlwind," Sam said. "It's like putting a dog leash on a Great White."

"Ok, then we stop Roy," Dean said after a moment of thought.

"How?" Sam asked.

"You know how," Dean said simply.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean?" Shia said, clocking on. "We can't kill Roy."

"The guy's playing God, he's deciding who lives and who dies," Dean argued back. "That's a monster in my book."

"No, we're not gonna kill a human being, Dean," Sam said, backing Shia's side. "We do that, we're no better than he is."

"Ok, so we can't kill Roy, we can't kill death. Any bright ideas, college boy?" Dean said sarcastically.

"Ok, uh, if Roy is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we've gotta figure out what it is," Sam said, coming up with a 'bright idea'. "And how to break it."

Trying to figure out how this was happening, Sam, Dean and Shia were back at Roy LeGrange's church the next day.

"If Roy is using a spell, there might be a spell book," Sam said as the group got out of the car.

"See if you guys can find it," Dean said, checking his watch. "Hurry up, too, the service starts in fifteen minutes. I'll try to stall Roy."

"Alright," Sam said, their path taking them past the protester they had seen there the other day.

"Roy LeGrange is a fraud," he continued to shout to anyone in the crowd that would listen. "He's no healer."

"Amen, brother," Dean said to the guy, Dean, Sam and Shia the only people paying much attention to this man.

"Preach it, bae," Shia added.

"Thank you," he said, watching them walk away, Sam and Shia in one direction while Dean headed towards the tent. As they were walking Sam smiled widely at his best friend.

"What the hell are smiling about, pretty boy?" Shia said to Sam.

"I don't know but when you said 'Preach it, bae' I thought it was funny," Sam said laughing a little.

"You guys have your way of agreeing with a good message, I have mine."

Outside the LeGrange house, Sue Ann was with her husband, her and another man helping him down the porch steps. Once they were gone, Sam and Shia pulled out of their hiding place, sneaking round the front of the house and through a window.

Inside, the pair found themselves in the library, both searching through the books on the shelves.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Shia asked Sam for clarification.

"I'm not sure," Sam said honestly. "A spell book clearly, but it could be a number of things."

"Right," Shia said, going back to the search.

Looking over the shelves, Sam noticed a thin layer of dust along the front of the books covering the wood. All but in one place where the wood could been seen through a small gap in the dust. This book had been pulled out recently.

Taking it from the shelf, Sam read the front cover. Encyclopaedia of Christian History. He began flipping through the pages as Shia moved to stand beside him. Looking over his shoulder, Shia noticed something else on the shelf that he had missed. In the space where the encyclopaedia had been was another, smaller book, tucked away and hidden. Pulling it out, Shia flipped through the pages of this book with Sam watching her. She stopped when she came to a picture of a reaper.

"I think it's safe to say this is what we were looking for," Shia said, flipping through the pagers again until Sam suddenly stopped her.

"Wait," he said, pointing to the picture on this page. "That's the cross."

Tucked away in the pages of this book were a number of newspaper clippings. Taking them out, Sam flipped through the subjects and headlines of some. The first was an article about an openly gay teacher who was sending a strong message of tolerance and acceptance to the nation's schools. The next one started with the headline: 'Local Abortion Rights Advocate Calls For End To Violence Against Woman'. The third clipping the two recognised, taking notice of. It was an article about Roy's very own protester, David Wright.

"Damn it, and I think we found his next victim," Shia said, her and Sam leaving the house with the small book.

Waiting and watching inside the tent, Dean attention was drawn to the cell phone in his pocket as it rang.

"What do you got?" Dean asked as he answered it.

"Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral," Shia's voice spoke on the other end. "And we think we know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?"

"The guy in the parking lot?" Dean said.

"Yeah. Yeah, we'll find him," Shia said. "But you can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?"

Both hung up, Dean going back to his waiting game while Sam and Shia searched the car park for David.

The waiting game paid off, somewhat, as Roy began his service.

"Layla. Layla Rourke," Roy called into the audience. "Come up here, child."

As the crowd clapped and cheered for Layla, she stood, hugging her mother tight.

"Baby, I love you," Mrs Rourke whispered into her daughter's ear.

"Oh, man," Dean groaned out. Why did it have to be her?

As Layla removed herself from her mother's arms, making her way up to the stage, Dean stood in her way.

"Layla, listen to me, you can't go up there," he told her.

"Why not?" Layla asked. "We've waited for months."

"You can't let Roy heal you," Dean told her.

"I don't understand," Lalyla said softly. "I mean, Roy healed you, didn't he? Why wouldn't I at least let him try?"

"Because if you do, something bad is gonna happen," Dean told her the half truth. "I can't explain, I just need you to believe me."

"Layla," Sue ann called to her, holding out her hand for Layla to join her on the stage.

"Please," Dean almost begged her as Lalyla looked back into her mother's eyes, the woman urging her to go forward.

"I'm sorry," Layla told Dean, brushing past him.

"Layla. Layla!" Dean called after her. but she didn't listen. She just moved to the stage, taking Sue Ann's hand and letting herself be led forward.

Out in the parking lot, Sam and Shia were still looking for David with no luck.

"Help!" they suddenly heard his voice call out. Following the voice and the direction they believed it to be in, Sam and Shia continued to search for David who, unknown to them, had already been marked by the reaper.

In the church, Roy had begun his service, raising his hands in the air.

"Pray with me, friends," he said to the crowd before turning to Layla. "I hope you're ready."

"I am," Layla said as the crowd raised their arms along with Roy. All but Dean, who stood still in the back, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

In the parking lot, David was still calling out for help as the reaper was cornering him.

"Help! Help me, please!" he called out as Sam and Shia finally found him.

"Where is it?" Shia asked.

"It's right there!" David said, pointing to what he saw as the reaper, but Sam and Shia only saw a fresh air.

"Alright, come on!" Sam said, dragging David away with him and Shia.

In the church, Roy was lowering his hand as always, ready to lay his healing touch on the waiting Layla.

"Fire! Hey, tent's on fire!" Dean's voice cut through the silence of the crowd, the words making everyone jump to their feet and scrambling to the exit. "Fire! Everybody, get out of here!"

"No! No, please! Please, don't stop!" Mrs Rourke called through the chaos. "Please! Reverend, please! Please! Please, don't stop! Please!"

Dean heard her words and wished to God he hadn't had to do that. If Roy had chosen anyone else today, he would have been fine. But not Layla. He had now condemned her to death.

Pushing his emotions aside as always, Dean pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing through to Shia as Roy called over the crowd.

"Friends, if you'd all just leave the tent in an orderly fashion, then we can figure out what's going on out there."

"I did it," Dean told Shia down the phone. "I stopped Roy."

"David, I think it's ok," Shia said to him. Breathing a sigh of relief, David nodded and turned his face away. But his relief was short lived as the reaper was now stood in front of him.

"No!" David called, scrambling back.

"Dean, it didn't work!" Shia told him. "The reaper's still coming!"

Sam and Shia watched David, unable to do anything as they couldn't see the reaper that approached him. All they saw was David falls to his knees, his face been quickly drained of it's color as the reaper placed his hand against his cheek.

"I'm telling you!" Shia called desperately down the phone. "I'm telling you, it must not have worked. Roy must not be controlling this thing!"

"Well, then who the hell is?" Dean said, his eyes scanning the church and finally falling on the culprit. Sue Ann stood in the corner with her back to him and muttering.

"Sue Ann," Dean breathed down the phone before hanging up, moving quickly to Sue Ann and spinning her to face him. Round her neck and clasped in her hand was necklace holding the cross from Sam had said was a large part of this.

Her muttering and casting interrupted, the Reaper backed away from David in the car park, his face quickly gaining it's colour back and gasping for air as his hand lost contact with his skin.

Inside the tent, Sue Ann quickly tucked the cross beneath her shirt.

"Help!" she called out. "Help me! Help!"

Hearing her cries, two sheriffs were immediately on the scene, dragging Dean away from Sue Ann and out of the tent with Sue Ann trailing behind them.

"I just don't understand. After everything we've done for you, after Roy healed you. We're very, very disappointed, Dean," Sue Ann said before turning to the sheriffs. "You can let him go, I'm not gonna press charges. The Lord will deal with him as he sees fit."

With that said, Sue Ann walked away, leaving Dean with the law.

"We catch you around here again, son, we'll put the fear of God in you, understand?" one of them said to Dean.

"Yes, sir. Fear of God. Got it," Dean said as the officers roughly let him go, walking away to reveal Layla now stood in front of him.

"Layla," Dean said almost desperately.

"Why would you do that, Dean?" she said to him. "When it could've been my only chance."

"He's not a healer," Dean said.

"He healed you," Layla countered.

"I know it doesn't seem fair. And I wish I could explain, but Roy is not the answer," Dean said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Goodbye, Dean," she replied simply. "I wish you luck. I really do."

"Same to you," Dean called after her retreating back. "You deserve it a lot more than me."

Walking back to the car to find Sam and Shia, Dean passed by Roy, Sue Ann and Mrs Rourke, overhearing their conversation.

"Private session tonight. No interruptions," Roy said. "I give you my word. I'll heal your daughter."

"Thank you, Reverend. God bless you," Mrs Rourke praised as Dean watched them carefully.

Back at their motel room, the group was going over the separate information they had found.

"So Roy really believes?" Sam questioned to Dean.

"I don't think he has any idea what his wife's doing," Dean answered.

"Well, we found this hidden in their library," Shia said, showing Dean the small book she still had. "It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper."

"Must be a hell of a spell," Dean said, flipping through the pages.

"Yeah," Shia said. "You've got to build a black altar, with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross the line like that, that preacher's wife. Black magic, murder. Evil."

"Desperate," Dean corrected. "Her husband was dying, she'd have done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."

"Cheating death. Literally," Sam said.

"Yeah, but Roy's alive, so why's she still using the spell?" Dean said.

"Right," Sam agreed. "To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."

"May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work," Dean recited.

"We've gotta break that binding spell, Dean," Sam said. flipping through the pages, Dean stopped on one showing the cross Sue Ann had been wearing round her neck.

"You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this," Dean pointed out. "And when she dropped it, the reaper backed off."

"So, you think we've gotta find the cross or destroy the altar?" Shia asked.

"Maybe both," Dean answered. "Whatever we do, we better do it soon. Roy's healing Layla tonight."

Later that night, Sam, Dean and Shia pulled up outside the private session in Roy's church.

"That's Layla's car," Sam said, pointing to a car close by them. "She's already here."

"Yeah," Dean said, no emotion in his voice.

"Dean," Shia questioned.

"You know, if Roy would have picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now," Dean said, finally getting out what he felt.

"Dean, please...don't," Shia said gently.

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months," Dean continued.

"What's happening to her is horrible. But, what are you gonna do? Let somebody else die to save her? You said it yourself, Dean. You can't play God," Shia said, getting nothing from Dean. "I've said this once today, and I'm gonna say it again till you get it. I am not gonna be upset that you are alive Dean. And neither should you."

The response this time was a quick glance in the mirror, back at Shia, before Dean silently got out of the car and to the tent, Sam and Shia following.

"Gather round. Please, everyone, gather round. Come in closer. Come on up," Roy said as Layla walked up on to the stage.

"Where's Sue Ann?" Dean asked.

"House," Sam suggested.

Following Sam's intuition, he, Dean and Shia went to the house to find it dark and seemingly empty.

"Go find Sue Ann. I'll catch up," Dean said, looking round.

"What are you...?" Sam began, but didn't get an answer as Dean left their side to walk round the front of the house where the sheriffs from earlier today were.

"Hey," he called to them. "You gonna put that fear of God in me?"

Taking off round the side of the house, Dean was quickly persuade by the cops, leaving the way open for Sam and Shia to find a way into the house. And the easiest and only way inside they found was the cellar.

At the parking lot outside the tent, the sheriffs were still looking round for Dean, who was now eluding them.

"You see him?" one policeman asked.

"No," the other answered. Suddenly, the sound of a barking dog caught their attention, both turning to see a large dog barking up out of the window of a trailer.

"Psycho mutt," the first sheriff said, the pair walking away from the dog. If they had stopped to look, they would have seen that what the dog was barking at was actually Dean, who was hiding on top of the trailer.

In the cellar of the LeGrange house, Sam and Shia had the luck to come across exactly what they were looking for. Sue Ann's altar complete with crosses, blood bones, candles... and a picture of Dean from the security camera with a blood X across his face. The next victim?

"I gave him life, and I can take it away," Sue Ann's voice said from behind them. Sam and Shia turned to see her stood in the doorway above them. Sam didn't say a word, he just overturned the altar, tipping the contents and destroying it.

Sue Ann backed up, locking the cellar door with them inside and sliding a metal bar in the handles.

"Can't you see?" Sue Ann continued through the door. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother is wicked. And he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It's God's will."

Sam and Shia simply chose to ignore her, trying the window as their exit.

"Goodbye," Sue Ann called as Sam used another bar from the floor to pry the window open.

At the church, Roy stood over Layla, Mrs Rourke at his side, and began to try to heal her.

"Mrs. Rourke, pray with me. Pray with me, friends," Roy said.

Out in the parking lot, the spell's magic began it's work. While Sue Ann stood outside the tent, looking in and muttering her spell, Dean watched with something between slight fear and acceptance as the reaper walked towards him, placing his hand on the side of Dean's face, the colour draining from his features as it had with David.

With each move that Roy and Layla made inside the tent, Dean and the reaper copied. As Roy guided Layla gently to her knees, Dean fell almost aggressively to his.

As Sue Ann stood muttering behind the tent, she didn't notice Sam and Shia walking up behind her, Shia turning her forcefully ripping the cross from her neck, shattering it on the floor.

Once the cross shattered, the spell was broken, the reaper taking his hand from Dean's face, allowing the colour to return to his features and the air to rush back into his lung with a large gasp. At the same time, inside the tent, Roy took his hand from Layla, his healing powers gone.

"I don't understand," Roy said.

"I don't feel different. Reverend?" Layla muttered softly.

"Sue Ann?" Roy called for his wife, getting no response from anything.

Outside the tent, his wife whimpered over her broken cross.

"My God! What have you done?!" Sue Ann cried.

"Sorry, honey, but he's not your God," Shia replied almost coldly. This woman did, after all, just try to kill her boyfriend after giving him back to her.

Sue Ann turned abruptly to come face to face with the grinning face of the reaper she had only moment ago been in control of.

She tried to back away, scramble towards Sam and Shia who simply stood watching, but the reaper was faster. He moved to her, placing his hand on her cheek and guiding her to the ground as the color drained from her face and the air left her lungs. Still, Sam and Shia watched, either unable of unwilling to do anything as she collapsed to the floor, twitching in pain before her hold on life gave in.

Leaving her lying where she was and getting out of there fast as they could, Sam and Shia found Dean already stood by the car, pretty much leaning against it after almost dying for a second time.

"Baby, are you okay?" Shia asked him.

"A little bit weak," Dean answered.

"Yeah. Alright, come on, we should get going," Sam, the three getting in the car and leaving.

The next morning they were all ready to leave, Sam was already packed and went to the main office to get them checked out. Shia and Dean was in the motel room getting packed, Dean looked over at Shia watching her as she packed. Shia felt him staring at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Shia said playfully. Dean smiled at her, she gave him a weak smile back.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked his girlfriend, he noticed that she avoided eye contact.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Shia said zipping her bag and walking over towards the door, Dean grabbed her arm causing her to stop; he grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him, he could see the tear stains on her beautiful face and one falling from her eyes. Dean leaned down and kissed the tear away.

"Baby, please, tell me what's wrong," Dean said looking in Shia's eyes, his green eyes meeting her dark brown eyes.

"I almost lost you back there, again. It hurts, that's all." Shia said barely above a whisper to Dean, he leaned in and gave his girlfriend a sweet kiss.

"You won't lose me anytime soon, Shia," Dean said after pulling away and giving her a hug, Shia smiled and lift her hand up to Dean's head and smacking him. "What the hell was that for?" Dean said rubbing his head.

"For flirting with Layla, for complaining about the nurses not being hot, and for that chick flick moment we just had," Shia said smiling widely at her boyfriend, she randomly used her powers and made her bag appear in her hands. Shia gave Dean a quick peck on the lips before walking out the door.

"One hell of a woman," Dean said watching his girlfriend walk out the door.


	12. Chapter 12: The Benders (1x15)

Miles away from a case, Shia and Dean sat at a booth while Sam went to the restroom.

"So, tell me about the two cases you had to work while I was with Bobby," Shia said grabbing one of her fries on the plate in front of her. Shia didn't understand why Dean has been quiet about the cases he's been working while she was away, maybe he had a bad experience with both of them, either that or he was hiding something.

"They weren't important, babe," Dean said pulling Shia close to him giving her a soft kiss on the lips. That was one thing, he was sort of clingy a little. Dean isn't that much of a clingy guy, but he's been all over Shia since she got back.

"Dean, seriously, tell me. You've been acting strange." Dean looked at his girlfriend and gave in.

"Okay, the first one I was helping an old friend and the second one had something to do with Sam and his visions...connected to some other kid like him. I don't know."

"See? Was that so hard?" Shia said giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Sam came out of the restroom and sat in front of the couple.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Sam asked looking at a newspaper for a new case.

"We were just talking about the two cases you guys worked while I was away," Shia said with a gentle smile, she turned to Dean and noticed the guilt on his face when she brought up the last two cases. Sam looked at his brother with confusion and shock.

"You told her about Cassie?" Sam asked incredulously looking up from the newspaper. Dean looked horrified that Sam brought that up in front of his current girlfriend.

"Cassie? Your ex girlfriend Cassie?" Shia asked her boyfriend moving away from him a little, Dean was hurt by her actions but didn't let his face show it. Dean simply nodded as a reply not knowing what to say. Shia was usually the funny, cute jealous girl, but as of right now it was a whole different type of jealously thing. She remembered Dean calling her about this Cassie woman once, Shia wanted to kick her ass badly. And another thing that hurt her was Dean was in love with that woman, he only knew her for a month and was madly in love with her, but Dean has been with Shia for over six months and he never...not once told Shia he loved her. Shia couldn't take being around him so she got up and walked out to car and got in the backseat of the impala. Dean turned to Sam, Sam could tell his brother was a little upset.

"Thanks, Sam. Really. Now she's going to be pissed at me for a a while, why did you have to mention that?" Dean asked his brother looking from Sam's eyes to the impala, he couldn't see Shia because she was lying down in the backseat.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I thought you told her, you should have. Knowing women, she probably thinks something happened between the two of you." Dean looked from the impala and looked at Sam. "Wait, something did happen?" Dean nodded as a response. Sam blood was boiling, he was hoping his brother did not cheat on his best friend with some girl he didn't date for longer than a month. Dean's not that stupid, is he?

"Sam-" Dean began to say, but Sam didn't want him to finish his sentence.

"You had sex with Cassie?" Sam asked, he was really hoping his brother didn't sleep with her.

"What? No, of course not. I'm not stupid. We kissed, but I stopped it before it got any further. I told Cassie about Shia, and how I'm in love with her." Dean said. Sam looked at his brother with wide eyes, did he just say he was in love with Shia.

"You love Shia?"

"Of course I do, you know that."

"Have you ever told her?" Sam asked his big brother.

"No, never got the chance to. When I tell her, I want it to be special, you know?" Sam looked at Dean, he couldn't believe how romantic his brother was being.

"Dude, who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

"Shut up, what do you have on a case?"

Sam toss a newspaper in front of his brother, Dean read over it and nodded slowly. "Okay, lets go."

The were on the road now, Sam was napping. The only two up were the loving couple, Shia and Dean. Dean couldn't help but glance at his girlfriend sitting in the back, he could see the light tear stains, seeing her this way killed him. He hated breaking his girlfriend's heart.

"Is Sam really napping? Hmm, that's weird. Should we wake him?" Shia asked from her seat in the back of the impala. Dean shook his head, he saw this as a great time to talk to his girlfriend.

"You know nothing serious happened between me and Cassie? I could never hurt you like that," Dean said trying to look at his girlfriend and the road at the same time.

"Yeah. Nothing happened. Whatever."

"What? You don't believe me?"

"It's not that, Dean."

"Then what the hell is it?" Dean asked, he didn't mean to sound as harsh as he did.

"I know how you are. I know how you want to be with other girls sometimes. I mean-"

"Whoa, I never want to be with other girls. It's all about you, and you know that."

"Do I really?" Shia asked with her eyes tearing up, she looked away from him. She couldn't understand how this got out of hand, and hurt her twice as much as it did earlier. She was over thinking, maybe. She loved Dean, she always have, but she wanted to know did he love her as much as she love him. Dean stayed silent, he looked forward on the road. With the conversation done, he couldn't help but think how he could fix this before it gets any worse.

With the moon out, and sky dark, the trio decided to call it the night by getting a motel room. Dean and Shia didn't cuddle or touched in any way, she stayed on her side and he stayed on his. Dean wanted to press up against her and whisper sweet things in her ear and tell her how much he loved her. With the thought of Shia, he fell asleep.

Next morning and the boy they were interviewing is having to relive the event again, telling them to a trio of state police, his mother present. Only these are three very unique officers who go by the names of Sam, Dean and Shia.

"I know you're just doing your job," his mother, Mrs McKay told the officers. "But the police have been here all week already. I don't see why we have to go through this again. The more he tells the story, the more he believes it's true."

"Mrs. McKay, we know you spoke with the local authorities," Sam began.

"But, uh, this seems like a matter for the state police, so…." Dean continued, trailing off.

"Don't worry about how crazy it sounds, Evan," Shia concluded sweetly for the two boys. "You just tell us what you saw."

"I was up late," Evan began to retell. "Watching TV, when I heard this weird noise."

"What did it sound like, sweetie?" Shia asked.

"It sounded like… a monster," Evan told her, Sam, Dean and Shia exchanging a look at this.

"Tell the officers what you were watching on TV," Mrs McKay told her son, showing how much she didn't believe his story of event.

"Godzilla Vs. Mothra," Evan shyly told the three, even if that did make Dean smile.

"That's my favorite Godzilla movie," Dean said, lowering himself to the level as a child as usual. "It's so much better than the original, huh?"

"Totally," Evan agreed with a wide smile.

"Yeah," Dean said, nodding towards Sam. "He likes the remake."

"Yuck!" Evan said, agreeing with Dean again. Sam glared at Dean, clearing his throat to get him to shut up.

"Evan, did you see what this thing was?" Sam asked, bringing the tone back to a professional level.

"No. But I saw it grab Mr. Jenkins," Evan said. "It pulled him underneath the car."

"Then what?" Sam asked.

"It took him away," Evan told them. "I heard the monster leaving. It made this really scary sound."

"What did it sound like, Evan?" Shia asked him.

"Like this… whining growl," Evan answered, Sam, Dean and Shia again exchanging a look, considered the possibilities of just what this could be this time.

"Thanks for your time, honey," Shia finished with a smile, concluding their time at the McKay's household.

Walking their way towards the car, Dean wrapped his arm around Shia's waist pulling her close. Shia didn't want Dean to touch her right now, so she simply shrugged him off and walked faster to the impala. Dean watched her walk away, sighing deeply he walked towards the car with his girlfriend not under his arms.

Thinking over what they had been told today and things that they already knew from searching this case, Sam, Dean and Shia made their way to the nearest bar. Sam, the typical bookworm, was sat at the table with research in front of him. Shia was sat at the table as well, only she had a beer in front of her. Dean was stood near by, practicing his aim with the dartboard.

"So, local police have now ruled out foul play," Shia said, looking over Sam's shoulder at the research. "Apparently, there are worse signs of a struggle."

"Well, they could be right, it could just be a kidnapping," Dean said. "Maybe this isn't our kind of gig.

"Yeah, maybe not. Except for this, Dad marked the area," Sam said, gaining Dean's full attention as he came over to the table to look in their father's journal. "Possible hunting grounds of a phantom attacker."

"Why would he even do that?" Dean questioned.

"Well, he found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night," Sam summarised. "Grabs people, then vanishes. He found this too. This county has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state."

"That is weird," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"Don't phantom attackers usually snatch people from their beds?" Shia said, punching small holes in that theory. "Jenkins was taken from a parking lot."

"Well, there are all kinds," Sam said, attempting to sew those holes back up. "You know, Springhill Jacks, phantom gassers. They take people anywhere, anytime. Look, I don't know if this is our kind of gig either."

"Yeah, you're right, we should ask around more tomorrow," Dean said.

"Right," Sam said, reaching for his wallet. "I saw a motel about five miles back."

"Whoa, whoa, easy," Dean said. "Let's have another round."

"We should get an early start," Sam told him.

"Yeah, you really know how to have fun, don't you, Grandma?" Dean said, Sam's only reply a small smile. "Alright, I'll meet you outside, I gotta take a leak."

Dean grabbed his coat, heading to the bathroom, while Sam gathered up all his research. He turned to Shia, his eyes asking if she was coming with him or not.

"Don't look at me," Shia said, picking up her beer bottle. "I really want to finish my drink."

Sam laughed slightly as she took a swig, clearly determined on staying until that bottle was drained. Dean made his way out of the bathroom, not far from him, he see his girl finishing her drink and grabbing her jacket. With a slight pep talk in his head, Dean walked over to her and gave her a look. It's strange how even today she gave him butterflies.

"Hey," Dean said softly approaching Shia.

"Hey," Shia said glancing up at Dean and walking by him to get the door, Dean grabbed her arm causing her to stop.

"We're gonna have to talk about this," Dean told Shia. Shia looked at him and scoffed with a hint of disgust.

"Now, you care about the relationship enough to want to save it. Please."

"Our relationship is in Jeopardy? Since when?" Dean asked, he'll never admit it but his heart was breaking to where this relationship was going.

"The night you cheated on me with Cassie," Shia said folding her arms, in a way she feels like she's over reacting. Dean leaned closer to her, grazing his lips over hers. Shia rolled her eyes and softly shoved Dean away. "A kiss won't save you this time, Dean."

"Damn it, Shia. I didn't cheat on you. Me and Cassie kissed, I stopped it before it went anywhere. Damn it. Don't you know I would never hurt you like that, I couldn't do that. I care about what we have too much," Dean told his girlfriend hoping that would fix some of this. Shia slowly nodded and gave him a small smile.

"You can show me you're sorry by going over there and paying for my drink, I'll be outside with Sam," Shia said walking out the door making her way to Sam.

Sam made his way over to the car, more prepared to wait for those two in the warmth rather than in the cold night air. But he was only within a couple of feet of inches of the car when he heard a noise that got his attention.

Placing the journal with the extra research onto the hood of the car, Sam took a flashlight from his coat pocket, using it to look around. Bending beneath the car to get a full view, Sam was knocked back from it as something flew at him, hissing. Frantically reaching for his flashlight, Sam turned it on his assailant to find….

A cat.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Sam set himself straight, from behind him he heard Shia laughing.

"You're scared of cats now, Sam?" Shia asked with amusement in her voice.

"God, don't do that. I thought you were going to come out with Dean." Sam said.

"I made your brother pay for my drink." Sam nodded at Shia and she smiled softly at him.

What they were not aware of was whatever was still under that car, watching them.

Not too long later, Dean left the bar, waiting to meet Sam and Shia outside. Only they weren't there. The journal and research was on the hood, but no Sam and Shia, not even inside the car.

Dean searched around, looking by the other cars, back in the bar, even in the bushes nearby. And with each minute hey didn't find them, he was becoming more and more frantic.

The first people to come in contact with the frantic Dean was a biker and his girlfriend from within the bar, clearly drunk. But Dean was in front of them in a flash.

"Hey, you guys been outside, around here in the last hour or so?" Dean asked them. All he got was a shake of the head as they walked away.

"Sam! Shia!" Dean called out, frantically looking round.

"Sammy!" Dean called out, even more frantic. Looking round, Dean's eyes fell on the surveillance camera on the road, elbowing Dean to get his attention, surely that have to have caught something.

"Sam! Shia! Babe! Sammy!" Dean called one last time, wandering onto the abandoned road.

Doing what any normal person would do, even if he wasn't that. Dean made his way to the police station the next morning to report Sam and Shia missing. Only unlike most people, Dean hadn't gone in as himself. That would have got him immediately arrested, missing persons case or not. Instead, he had gone with his trusty fake ID's.

"So," Kathleen, the young deputy, said as she came back out to Dean. "What can we do for you, Officer Washington?"

"I'm working a missing persons," Dean, answered.

"I didn't know the Jenkins case was being covered by the state police," Kathleen said, spieling off the only ongoing missing persons case she knew of.

"Oh, no," Dean said. "No, there's someone else. Actually, it's my cousin and his girlfriend. We were havin' a few last night at this bar down by the highway. And I haven't seen them since."

"Does your cousin and his girlfriend have a drinking problem?" Kathleen asked, going with the obvious police questions.

"Sam? Two beers and he's doin' karaoke, and Shia was drinking but she's wasn't drunk. If she was to get drunk that would mean something was wrong, she sometimes drink her problems away. Last night wasn't the case though," Dean said, getting a small smile from Kathleen. "No, they weren't drunk. They were taken."

Kathleen nodding, getting to business and sitting in front of her computer, Dean taking the seats in front of her.

"Alright. What are their names?" Kathleen asked.

"Winchester. Sam Winchester and Shia Colten," Dean answered.

"Like the rifle?" Kathleen asked.

"Like the rifle," Dean told her, having heard that asked enough times. Kathleen went to work, typing Sam's name into the search engine and bringing up his rather extensive file and police record. She looked over the page, seeing a link at the bottom to one sibling, brother Dean Winchester. One click and she had his rather more extensive police file.

"Samuel Winchester," Kathleen read off his full title. "So, you know that his brother, Dean Winchester, died in St. Louis. And, uh, was suspected of murder."

"Yeah, Dean," Dean said. "Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though."

"Uh-huh," Kathleen said, face down and back to Dean. "Well, he's not showing up in any current field reports."

"Shia Colten," Kathleen said typing in Dean's girlfriend name. "Clean record, good girl. She wasn't even in the system until she was fourteen, it was like she wasn't even born until the age fourteen. That's a little weird. Anyways, she had a legal guardian before she turned eighteen. Uh, Robert Singer."

"Yeah, she loves that man like he's her biological father," Dean said with a small smile thinking about the relationship between his girlfriend and her father.

"Well, they're not showing up in the local system. Sorry."

"Oh, I already have a lead," Dean told her. "I saw a surveillance camera by the highway."

"Uh-huh. The county traffic cam?" Kathleen said.

"Right," Dean answered. "Yeah. I'm thinking the camera picked up whatever took them. Or, whoever."

"Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the county works department, but… well, anyhow, let's do this the right way," Kathleen said, taking a bunch of sheets of paperwork from the top drawer of a filing cabinet and handing them to Dean, along with a clipboard. "Why don't you fill out a missing persons report and sit tight over here?"

"Officer," Dean said, pushing the paperwork aside. "Look, uh, he's family. I kind of… I kind of look out for the kid. And, I look out for the chick too. It's my job. You gotta let me go with you."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that," Kathleen told them.

"Well, tell me something," Dean asked her. "Your county has its fair share of missing persons. Any of 'em come back?"

Kathleen's silence and the melancholy look on her face was enough of an answer for Dean.

"Sam and Shia are my responsibility," Dean said into the silence. "And they are comin' back. I'm bringin' them back."

And Dean simply waiting as Kathleen stared him out. Waiting to see just what she would do.

Sat outside the County Works Department, Dean was waiting for a Kathleen who had eventually made up her mind. She was helping him, though what the reason was Dean wasn't too sure right now. For now, he was just glad that she was helping. The quicker he got this sorted out, the quicker he would get Sam and Shia back.

"Greg," Dean heard Kathleen's voice from behind him call out his fake name. Standing to great her, he saw that she was holding a number of printouts. "I think we've got something. These traffic cams take an image every three seconds, as part of the Amber Alert program. These images were all taken around the time that your cousin, Sam, and his 'girlfriend' Shia, disappeared."

"This really isn't what I'm looking for," Dean said as he flicked through picture after picture of what looked like a typical highway.

"Just wait, wait, next one," Kathleen told them. Dean turned the next page to see an image of a rusted up truck. "This one was taken right after Sam left the bar and before Shia came out moments later. Look at the back end of that thing. Now, look at the plates."

Dean did just that, turning the page to see a close up of the truck's license plate, and he did not match the truck at all.

"Oh, the plates look new," Dean noticed. "It's probably stolen."

"So, whoever's driving that rust bucket must be involved," Kathleen deduced. Just then, a beat up van, quite similar but not quite to the pictures he had in front of him. The engine, backfiring and in desperate need of a tuning, whined loudly as it drove by.

"Hear that engine?" Dean said.

"Yeah," Kathleen answered.

"Kind of a whining growl, isn't it?" Dean said, thinking back to their conversation with young Evan.

"Sure," Kathleen agreed. Dean watched the beat up van as it drove away.

"I'll be damned," Dean muttered below his breaths.

Back at the prison barn where Sam and Shia was being held, within the prison cage, Sam was desperately trying to kick down the door trapping him and his best friend. But at this rate, it seemed that he was more likely to break his foot before he broke down the door.

The banging and clanging reverberating round the empty room, the noise woke Jenkins, who sat with a groan. Hearing their trapped partner awake, Sam and Shia moved over to the bars on his side.

"You're alive," Sam said to him, merely getting another groan in response. "Hey, you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm doin' okay?" Jenkins muttered sarcastically.

"Where the hell are we?" Shia asked.

"I don't know. The country, I think. Smells like the country," Jenkins responded.

"You're Alvin Jenkins, aren't you?" Sam asked him.

"Yeah," he replied.

"We were lookin' for ya," Sam said with a sigh, glancing back at Shia.

"Oh, yeah?" Jenkins questioned.

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"Well, no offense, but this is a piss-poor rescue," Jenkins told him. Shia sighed, she thought this guy was a little rude.

"Smart ass," Shia mumbled under her breath, but Sam heard what she said. Sam smiled at his friend comment because he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, my brother is out there right now," Sam said. "He's lookin' for us. So…."

"So, he's not gonna find us. We're in the middle of nowhere," Jenkins said, nodding towards a door that lead out into another building. "Waiting for them to come back and do God-knows-what to us."

"What are they?" Sam asked eagerly. "Have you seen them?"

"What are you talking about?" Jenkins said.

"Whatever's got us, what'd they look like?" Shia repeated for Sam.

"See for yourself," Jenkins said as the sound of the opening door echoed through the barn.

Two men wearing black coats that covered their heads walked in, one heading to Jenkins' cage and kicking the bars, causing him to back up a bit. The second man moved over to a panel on the wall, inserting a key and turning it. This unlocked the door to Jenkin's cage and the two men stepped just inside it.

"Leave me alone!" Jenkins yelled at the two. "Don't you take me, leave me alone!"

But they didn't want to take him. Instead, they simply placed a plate of food in front of him, leaving the cage and going over to the panel to lock it again. They left the barn without saying a word, Sam watching them while Jenkins greedily dug into his food.

"I'll be damned," Shia muttered softly to herself.

"They're just people." Sam said to his best friend who was standing beside him.

"Yeah. What'd you expect?" Jenkins said between mouthfuls.

"How often do they feed you?" Shia asked, getting back on topic.

"Once a day. And they use that thing over there to open the cage," Jenkins said, pointing to the panel the men had used.

"And that's the only time you see 'em?" Sam asked.

"So far. But I'm waitin'," Jenkins told him.

"Waiting for what?" Shia asked.

"Ned Beatty time, baby," Jenkins said simply. Shia grimaced softly at the old man giving her the nickname 'baby'.

"I think that's the least of your worries right now," Sam said.

"Oh, yeah?" Jenkins questioned.

"Yeah," Sam repeated.

"What do you think they want, then?" Jenkins asked. For a moment, Sam didn't answer. He was more interested in finding a way out, and right now he was working on a metal wire stretching over his and Shia cage, pulling at it and simply hoping for the best.

"Depends on who they are," Shia answered for Sam.

"They're a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks, if you ask me," Jenkins said. "Lookin' for love in all the wrong places."

Sam and Shia said nothing to that. Sam just continued to pull at the wire, slowly starting to detach it from the pole it was attached to. Shia watched Sam as she did so, the only thing was on her mind was her boyfriend and how she missed him terribly.

Making only a small amount of headway on his case to find Sam and Shia, Dean was now driving round in the squad car with Kathleen, using the traffic camera pictures to follow where the rusty old van had gone too.

"Okay, the next traffic cam is fifty miles from here," Kathleen told Dean as they passed yet another camera. "And the pickup didn't pass that one, so…."

"So, it must've pulled off somewhere," Dean finished for her. "I didn't see any other roads here."

"Well, a lot of these backwoods properties have their own private roads," Kathleen told them.

"Great," Dean muttered, turning to stare at the passing scenery to hope to catch a glimpse of this little back road, even in the pitch dark. A beep from the computer told them it had new information, catching Kathleen's attention but not Dean's. She clicked the screen, bringing up a page with information that Kathleen had been expecting, but not really wanting.

"So, Gregory," Kathleen said to Dean, causing him to look over at her.

"Yeah?" Dean said.

"I ran your badge number," Kathleen told him. "It's routine when we're working a case with state police. For accounting purposes and what have you."

"Mmhmm," Dean mumbled, dread starting to set in at just what she might have found.

"And, uh, it just got back to me," Kathleen said, pulling the car to a stop on the side of the road. "It says here your badge was stolen. And there is picture of you."

Kathleen turned the computer screen for Dean to more easily see, showing him the pictures of himself. Only this picture looked nothing like the person she was driving with.

Officer Gregory Washington was a heavy set African American man.

"I lost some weight," Dean tried to talk his way out. "And I got that Michael Jackson skin disease."

"Okay, would you step out of the car, please?" Kathleen told the young man, taking off her seatbelt and beginning to get out herself.

"Look, look, look," Dean began, stopping her in her tracks. "If you wanna arrest me, that's fine. I'll cooperate, I swear. But, first, please… let me find Sam and my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend?" Kathleen asked wide eyed.

"Yes, my girlfriend." Dean replied.

"I suspected that, the way you talked about her."

"Please, let me help..." Dean begged.

"I don't even know who you are," Kathleen argued back. "Or if this Sam person and Shia girl is really missing."

"Look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying about this," Dean said sincerely.

"Identity theft?" Kathleen questioned Dean. "You're impersonating an officer."

"Look, here's the thing," Dean began. "When we were young, I pretty much pulled him from a fire. And ever since then, I've felt responsible for him. Like it's my job to keep him safe. I'm just afraid if we don't find him fast… please. He's my family. And Shia is like my family too."

"I'm sorry. You've given me no choice," Kathleen told them in true police officer style. "I have to take you in."

Kathleen looked up, glancing at her visor, and her eyes caught sight of the picture she always carried there. A picture of her an another young man, both smiling and happy. A picture of a man she had not seen in years, and probably never would again.

"After we find Sam Winchester and Shia Colten," Kathleen said, sitting back in her seat and fastening her seatbelt again. Dean looked at Kathleen, confused. Again, he wasn't too sure and why this woman was helping him, but again, it didn't matter as long as it got him closer to Sam and Shia.

Where Sam and Shia actually were, Sam was still trying to free him and Shia, still pulling at the metal wire fastened above their cage.

"What's your name, again?" Jenkins asked as he watched him.

"It's Sam," Sam answered distractedly.

"And yours sweetheart?" Jenkins asked Shia.

"It's Shia, not sweetheart," Shia told the older man.

"Well, baby girl, why don't you tell your boyfriend, Sammy, here to give up," he told her. " There's no way out."

"Don't… call me… Sammy!" Sam said between grunts, his work finally paying off as with one final tug the wire pulled lose, a small metal item falling between the bars and into the cage by Sam's feet.

The door, however, did not open.

"What is it?" Jenkins asked, noticing Sam picking up and examining the piece of metal.

"It's a bracket," Sam answered.

"Well, thank God, a bracket. Now we've got 'em, huh?" Jenkins joked.

"Don't be such a dick!" Shia told Jenkins, he was really starting to work her nerves.

Just then, the door to Jenkins' cage unlocked, eerily swinging open all by itself.

"Must've been short," Jenkins said, climbing from his cage. "Maybe you knocked somethin' loose."

"I think you should get back in there, Jenkins," Sam said, not liking this situation at all.

"What?" Jenkins asked, thinking the boy was nuts. There was no way he was climbing back in that cage now he was free.

"This isn't right," Shia told him.

"Don't you two wanna get out of here?" Jenkins asked.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "But that was too easy."

"He's right," Shia agreeing with Sam.

"Look, I'm gonna get out of here, and I'm gonna send help, okay," Jenkins told them. "Don't worry."

"No, I'm serious," Sam continued to try. "Jenkins, this might be a trap."

"Bye, Sammy. And bye, beautiful," Jenkins called back as he strode out of the barn.

"Jenkins!" Sam called after him, but to no avail. Jenkins was inside a room very similar to the one he had just left, trying to find a way out.

Inside the room Sam and Shia was still trapped in, the door to Jenkins' cage slammed shut with a resounding metal clunk.

"Sam, remind me when we get out here to use my powers a lot more often," Shia said to her friend, she started to shiver because it was a little cold in the barn. Sam looked at her trying to warm herself up, he pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her trying to keep her warm.

Daylight hours, early morning, Dean and Kathleen try to revive themselves for the day ahead with a fix of Starbucks caffine.

"Hey, Officer?" Dean questioned Kathleen. "Look, I don't mean to press my luck."

"Your luck is so pressed," Kathleen interrupted.

"Right," Dean mumbled. "I was wondering… why are you helping me out, anyway? Why don't you just lock me up?"

"My brother, Riley, disappeared three years ago," Kathleen told them solemnly. "A lot like Sam. We searched for him, but… nothing. I know what it's like to feel responsible for someone, and for them….and as for your girlfriend. I know what's it like to be away from someone you're in love with for a certain amount of time. I use to date a guy in the army. Come on. Let's keep at it."

And Kathleen left it at that, expecting no more questions, only getting in the car and wanting Dean to follow her.

At least he now knew why Kathleen had always been so willing to help him.

Dean and Kathleen had been driving down that fifty miles stretched of road between traffic cameras for ages, and had yet to see anywhere where Sam and Shia may be hidden.

That was until the something that caught Dean's eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait, pull over here. Pull over," Dean told Kathleen and she did, the three getting out of the car and looking at the stretch of forest Dean had stopped them by. The stretched with a hidden turn-off. "It's the first turn-off I've seen so far."

"You stay here, I'll check it out," Kathleen told the pair.

"No way," Dean said.

"Hey," Kathleen continued. "You're a civilian. And a felon, I think. I'm not taking you with me."

"You're not goin' without me," Dean told her.

"Alright," Kathleen said with a sigh. "You promise you won't get involved? You'll let me handle it?"

"Yeah, promise," Dean told her, not holding eyes contact.

"Shake on it," Kathleen said, holding out her hand with Dean took. Moving quicker than Dean, Kathleen clasped an open handcuff around Dean's wrist.

"Oh, come on," Dean groaned as Kathleen moved him by the cuffs, keeping hold of him for a second as she linked the cuffs between the handle of the car.

"This is ridiculous," Dean called out to Kathleen as she walked away from him. "Kathleen, I really think you're gonna need my help."

"I'll manage. Thank you," Kathleen said, clicking the lock button as she walked off down the trial.

"I gotta start carrying paper clips," Dean said once he was alone.

Inside the barn, the cage that had once been occupied by Jenkins was now Kathleen's home, coming out of unconsciousness with a groan, massaging her sore head.

"You alright?" Kathleen heard a male voice answer, looking up at the occupant of the cage opposite her.

"Are you Sam Winchester?" she asked, ignoring his question then she saw another figure beside the young man. "And Shia Colten?"

"Yeah," Sam answered for the both of them.

"Your, uh, your cousin is looking for you guys," Kathleen told him.

"Thank God," Shia said, clinging to her new ray of hope. "Where is he?"

"I, uh… I cuffed him to my car," Kathleen admitted, Sam and Shia sighing.

The creak of the door opening captured Sam, Shia, and Kathleen's attention, watching as a set of jean clad legs headed towards their cage. It wasn't until he was stood practically in front of the two cages when Sam, Shia, and Kathleen could see Dean's face.

"Sam? Shia?" Dean said as he saw them, kneeling in front of the cage as Sam smiled. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Sam answered.

"What about you, baby? Are you good?" Dean asked turning his attention to his girlfriend.

"I'm fine, babe," Shia said giving her boyfriend a smile.

"Damn, it's good to see you two," Dean said with his own smile.

"How did you get out of the cuffs?" Kathleen asked Dean, knocking his attention to her.

"Oh, I know a trick or two," Dean said, getting a confused look from Kathleen.

"Alright," Dean said, moving to take a closer look at the locks holding Sam and Shia in. "Oh, these locks look like they're gonna be a bitch."

"Well, there's some kind of automatic control right there," Shia said, pointing to the control panel on the wall she had already seen them using.

"Have you seen 'em?" Dean asked his brother and girlfriend.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "Dude, they're just people."

"And they jumped you? Shia, I understand a little, but you? Must be gettin' a little rusty there, kiddo," Dean joked as he looked over the control panel.

"What do they want?" Dean asked.

"We don't know," Sam answered. "They let Jenkins go, but that was some sort of trap. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Well, that's the point," Dean told him. "You know, with our usual playmates, there's rules, there's patterns. But with people, they're just crazy."

"See anything else out there?" Sam asked.

"Uh, he has about a dozen junked cars hidden out back," Dean said. "Plates from all over, so I'm thinkin' when they take someone, they take their car, too."

"Did you see a black Mustang out there?" Kathleen suddenly jumped into the conversation. "About ten years old?"

"Yeah, actually, I did," Dean said, Kathleen's expression turning somber again. "Your brother's?" Dean asked, and Kathleen nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Let's get you guys out of here, then we'll take care of those bastards," Dean said, getting back to point. "This thing takes a key. Key?"

"I don't know," Sam told them.

"Alright, I better go find it," Dean said, turning to leave.

"Hey," Sam said, pulling Dean attention long enough for him to turn to him. "Be careful."

"Yeah," Dean said walking towards the door.

"Wait, Dean," Shia spoke up, Dean turned to look at his girlfriend.

"Yeah, babe?"

"Come back to me in one piece."

"Oh you know I will," Dean said leaving the barn.

Crazy events were happening today. Dean got suck in the house and Shia had to come to his rescue.

"My family is gonna kill that pretty lady with the wavy dark hair. She looks like a screamer," The little girl said with a demonic l, evil giggle.

"If your 'family' touch my girl, I'll kill you all! I will kill you!" Dean shouted at the girl. The little girl reached over and cut Dean with the blade she had in her hand.

"Get your hands off my boyfriend," Shia called out to the little girl, she waved her hands causing the blade to get pulled away from the little girl by her powers. Shia's eyes went to a blazing blue, white color as the closet door opened and the girl was pushed back in the closet, the door closing and locking by itself. Shia turned to her boyfriend and smiled.

"Babe. Your eyes..." Dean said.

"Oh, sorry," Shia said before turning her eyes back to a normal.

"You used your powers, I thought you wanted to be normal."

"Well, I'm not normal. So, I guess I'll use them more. Anyways, we have bigger problems."

"What?" Dean said as Shia untied him.

"You got your ass kicked by a five year old," Shia said with a small giggle. Dean stood up to face Shia, and gave her a smile.

"She wasn't five, she was like twelve."

"Still, she kicked your ass," Shia said walking out the door.

Outside the house, Sam, Dean and Shia were finally reunited again, the ordeal pretty much over as they stumbled out into the night. Walking down the porch steps, they met up with Kathleen, who was walking from the barn.

"Where's the girl?" Kathleen asked, her police mind kicking in as she was the only one unaccounted for.

"Locked her in a closet," Shia answered. "What about the old guy?"

"Shot," Kathleen answered after a small pause. "Trying to escape."

Sam, Dean and Shia said nothing to that. There was nothing to say, they knew the truth. And they also knew exactly what each of them would have done if they were in her situation.

"I think the car's at the police station," Dean mumbled to the other two as Kathleen listened in on her walkie-talkie, having to call in this incident.

"Backup unit en route to your location," the female voice over the radio spoke to Kathleen as she approached Sam, Dean and Shia.

"So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you," Kathleen told them. "I suggest that you're both long gone by then."

"Thanks," Dean said. "Hey, listen, I don't mean to press our luck, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?"

"Start walking," Kathleen said. "Duck if you see a squad car."

"Sounds great to me. Thanks," Sam said to her.

"Listen, uh… I'm sorry about your brother," Dean said sincerely.

"Thank you," Kathleen said, beginning to tear up slightly thinking about all this. "It was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth… but it isn't really. Anyway, you should go."

Sam, Dean and Shia did just that, nodding in acknowledge to the cop as they walked away, Kathleen watching them leave. A few steps down the road, Shia moved closer to Dean, wrapping her arms round him as they walked.

"Never do that again," Dean told them.

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"Go missin' like that," Dean said, making Sam and Shia laugh.

"You were worried about us," Sam said to his brother.

"All I'm sayin' is, you two vanish like that again, I'm not lookin' for ya," Dean told his brother.

"Sure, you won't," Shia said sarcastically, trying to hide her laughter.

"I'm not," Dean clarififed.

"So, you got sidelined by a thirteen-year-old girl, huh?" Sam said to Dean and Shia burst out in laughter.

"Oh, shut up," Dean muttered.

"Just sayin'," Sam said, no longer able to contain that smirk. "Gettin' rusty there, kiddo."

"Shut up," Dean said again.

And the three, now together again, made their way slowly to the car miles away, ready for whatever might come at them next, just so long as they were together.

And the three, now together again, made their way slowly to the car miles away, ready for whatever might come at them next, just so long as they were together.

On the road everything was silent, Sam was asleep in the backseat. Shia was in the front with Dean looking out the window, and Dean was driving. Dean slowly reached over and grabbed Shia's hand intertwining their fingers. Shia looked over at him and smile.

"You know, I'm still mad at you right?" Shia said giving Dean a smirk.

"I know, but I'm telling you...nothing happened."

"Then what did happen?" Shia asked.

Two weeks ago

Dean was in Cassie's home checking up on her, the started out with a talk but things got heated and Cassie reached over a kissed Dean for a second Dean kissed back, but after a few moments he softly pushed her back causing her to stop kissing him.

"Dean, what-" Cassie started to say, but Dean interrupted her.

"Cassie, I'm with someone. Okay? I can't do this. I love you, believe me. But not in that way," Dean said truthfully. Cassie looked at Dean for a moment, she knew one girl that Dean could have been with that made him turn her down.

"It's that Shia girl, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"The one that threatened to kick my ass?" Cassie asked, Dean laughed softly and nodded.

"Yeah, to be honest, I don't think it was a threat." Dean told her. She smiled and walked back to her desk.

Shia listened to Dean's story, She didn't know what to say. Did Dean Winchester really turned down a girl for her? Maybe he really did want this to work.

"Dean, that was really sweet of you. Thank you for being faithful, I appreciate it. I'm sorry," Shia said to her boyfriend.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I was being a total bitch."

"No, you weren't. I have something to ask you though," Dean said to Shia turning to her for a second with a smile.

"What?"

"Will you go on a date with me?" Dean asked, for some reason, Shia made him feel like he was thirteen asking out his first girlfriend.

"I would love to go on a date with you." Shia replied leaning over to give Dean and soft kiss on the cheek.


	13. Chapter 13: Shadow (1x16)

Sam, Dean and Shia have heard of a terrible incident and, seeing with their hunter minds, knew that what killed this woman wasn't human. Dressed in alarm system employee outfits and Dean carrying a toolbox, the trio headed towards Meredith's apartment.

"All right, this is the place," Sam told the other two.

"You know, I've gotta say Shia, Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes," Dean said, pulling at his jumpsuit. "I feel like a high school drama dork."

"What was that play that you did, Sammy?" Shia asked Sam with a small smile. "What was it... Our Town. Yeah, you were good, it was cute. You were such a little cutie."

"Look, you wanna pull this off or not?" Sam said ignoring Shia's comment.

"I'm just sayin'," Dean continued. "These outfits cost hard-earned money, okay?"

"Whose?" Sam asked.

"Ours. You think credit card fraud is easy?" Dean said, striding in front of the other two.

"You think credit card fraud is easy? Man, he has been in a swampy mood all week," Shia mimicked her boyfriend as she was walking with Sam out of ear shot from Dean.

"Yeah, I know. Is he alright?" Sam asked.

"Oh, he's fine. He's just having a bad day, I guess," Shia said with a small shrug.

Inside Meredith's apartment, Sam, Dean and Shia were let in by the landlady.

"Thanks for lettin' us look around,"

"Well, the police said they were done with the place, so..." she said, Sam and Shia following her into the main area of the apartment while Dean closed the door behind them. It was there he noticed the chain across the door, broken, before he followed into the living room to see blood spots covering the carpet. "You guys said you were with the alarm company?"

"That's right," Dean answered.

"Well, no offence, but your alarm's about as useful as boobs on a man," the landlady said, Sam, Dean and Shia looking puzzled.

"Well, honey, that's why we're here," Shia continued after a moment. "To see what went wrong and stop it from happening again."

"Now, ma'am, you found the body?" Sam asked the landlady.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Right after it happened?" Sam asked.

"No. Few days later," the landlady told them. "Meredith's work called, she hadn't shown up. I knocked on the door. That's when I noticed the smell."

"Any windows open?" Dean asked. "Any sign of break-in?"

"No," the landlady answered. "Windows were locked, front door was bolted. Chain was on the door, we had to cut it just to get in."

"And the alarm was still on?" Shia asked more of a statement than a question.

"Like I said, bang-up job your company's doin'," the landlady quipped.

"Yep," Shia said, not in the mood to defend the compant she fictionally worked for. "Did you see any overturned furniture, broken glass, signs of struggle?"

"Everything was in perfect condition," the landlady said with a shake of her head. "Except Meredith."

"And what condition was Meredith in?" Sam asked.

"Meredith was all over. In pieces," the landlady answered. "The guy who killed her must have been some kind of a whackjob. But I tell you, if I didn't know any better, I'd have said a wild animal did it."

At the word 'animal' Dean looked over at Sam and Shia, really thinking this was right up their alley now.

"Ma'am, do you mind if we take some time?" Sam asked. "Give this place a once-over?"

"Oh, well, go right ahead. Knock yourself out," the landlady said, leaving them to their work. Once she was gone, Dean opened the toolbox and took out their kind of tools, an EMF meter.

"So," Shia began with a recap. "A killer walks in and out of the apartment, no weapons, no prints, nothing."

"I'm tellin' ya, the minute I found that article, I knew this was our kind of gig," Sam said.

"I think I agree with you," Dean said as the EMF meter in his hands began beeping frantically seconds after he switched it on.

"So, babe, did you talk to the cops?" Shia asked Dean.

"Uh, yeah," Dean answered. "I spoke to Amy, a, uh, charming, perky officer of the law."

"Yeah? What did you find out?" Shia asked him.

"Well, she's a Sagittarius. She loves tequila, I mean... wow. Oh, and she's got this little tattoo..." Dean began spieling off his list, he started to trail off when he say the look on his girlfriend's face. Shia gave him a death glare, I mean she is the cute, jealous girlfriend. Not too jealous, of course Dean knew that but he hated the glares she would give him...he knows what she is capable of...he never wants to really tick her off.

"You want to finish that sentence?" Shia asked Dean calmly, but her voice sounded threatening.

"No, not really." Dean said, Shia was still glaring at him, yet again telling him to stay on topic. "Yeah. Uh, nothin' we don't already know. Except for one thing they're keepin' out of the papers."

"Hm?" Sam asked.

"Meredith's heart was missing," Dean told them.

"Her heart?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah. Her heart," Dean repeated.

"So, what do you think did it to her?" Sam asked.

"Well, the landlady said it looked like an animal attack," Dean surmised. "Maybe it was... werewolf?

"No, no werewolf, the lunar cycle's not right," Shia shot that theory down. "Plus, if it was a creature, it would've left some kind of trace. It's probably a spirit." While Shia had been speaking bending over take a look at the blood spots on the carpet, Dean had only been half listening as he concentrated on Shia's ass and the blood spots on the carpet. He was trying to figure out something.

"Shia, see if you can find any masking tape around," Dean asked the woman beside him.

Once he had the masking tape in hand, Sam and Shia watched as Dean tore of pieces, arranging them against the spots of blood like a connect-the-dots puzzle. And the finished product was an unusual symbol.

"Ever see that symbol before?" Sam asked.

"Never," Dean said.

"This is one weird ass symbol, I haven't this before either," Shia added.

Later that night, Sam, Dean and Shia took their research to the local bar. Dean, as usual was the first there. And, as usual, he was also stood flirting with the barmaid. Sam and Shia entered the bar not to long after, Dean watching them sit at a table.

With a smile and a goodbye to the barmaid, Dean moved to sit with them, beside Shia, while Sam searched through the pages of the journal.

"I talked to the bartender," Dean announced.

"Did you get anything?" Shia asked. "Besides her number?"

"I'm a professional. I'm offended that you of all people would think that, babe," Dean told her. All Shia did was continue staring at him letting him know that her BS meter is running high. "All right, yeah." Dean slapped down the napkin in his hand, showing the barmaids number. Shia just knew that boy much too well.

"You mind doin' a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?" Sam said with a shake of his head.

"Huh?" Dean said, confused as always. "Look, there's nothing to find out. I mean, Meredith worked here, she waited tables, everyone here was her friend. Everybody said she was normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died, so... What about that symbol, you find anything?"

"Nope, nothing," Sam said. "It wasn't in Dad's journal or in any of the usual books. I just have to dig a little deeper, I guess."

"Well, there was a first victim, right?" Dean asked. "Before Meredith?"

"Right. Yeah," Sam said, pulling out a newspaper clipping of an obituary. "His name was, uh... his name was Ben Swardstrom. Last month he was found mutilated in his town house. Same deal, the door was locked, the alarm was on."

While Sam had been telling his story, Shia's hand had been sneakily reaching across the table, aiming for the napkin with the barmaid's number on it. And now was when Dean noticed, catching Shia's eyes as she grinned guilty at him. Dean just smiled back at her, taking the napkin before Shia could and ripping it up, a much bigger gesture to Shia then him stopping flirting. That was just who he was, Shia knew that. Hell, she flirted enough too. Shia's guilty smile turned softer and Dean leaned across the table, kissing her.

"Is there any connection between the two of them?" Dean asked, his eyes still on Shia.

"Not that I can tell," Shia answered. "I mean, not yet, at least. Ben was a banker, Meredith was a waitress. They never met, never knew anyone in common. They were practically from different worlds."

"So, to recap, the only successful intel we've scored so far is the bartender's phone number, and... well," Dean, said, motioning down to the ripped up pieces of napkin.

This time while Dean and Shia had been talking, Sam had been the one who had been somewhat distracted, his attention on something over the other side of the bar that, when looking round, Dean and Shia had no idea what it was.

"What?" Dean asked as Sam stood and walked away.

"Sam?" Shia called after him, but he carried on walking to the other side of the bar. And what was waiting for him over there was a blonde girl sat at a table. Tapping her on the shoulder, the girl turned round to reveal someone Sam hadn't seen for quite some time.

"Meg," he said, shocked.

"Sam! Is that you? Oh, my God!" Meg said, standing from her seat and hugging a still puzzled Sam. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just in town, visiting friends," Sam told her.

"Where are they?" Meg asked, looking around.

"Well, they're not here right now, but what about you, Meg? I thought you were goin' to California," Sam asked as Dean and Shia walked up behind him.

"Oh, I did," Meg said. "I came, I saw, I conquered. Oh, and I met what's-his-name, something Michael Murray at a bar."

"Who?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while."

Behind the two, Dean cleared his throat loudly, trying to get attention, but was ignored.

"You're from Chicago?"

"No, Massachusetts, Andover. Gosh, Sam, what are the odds we'd run into each other?"

"Yeah, I know, I thought I'd never see you again."

"Well, I'm glad you were wrong." Again, Dean cleared his throat for attention, this time louder. And this time he got it as Meg turned to him. "Dude, cover your mouth."

"Yeah, um, I'm sorry, Meg," Sam said, also only just realising Dean and Shia were behind him. "This is, uh... this is my brother, Dean, and his girlfriend, Shia."

"This is Dean? And Shia?" Meg said in surprise, when she turned to Shia see looked at her with disgust.

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"So, you've heard of me?" Dean said with a smirk. Shia can sense Dean's ego boasting up, and she also feels like it's about to get shot down.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard of you," Meg said. "Nice, the way you treat your brother like luggage."

"Excuse me?" Shia asked, confused as to why this random girl is talking to her boyfriend like that.

"And you. Why don't you stop taking sides based on who you sleep with? It's not cute." Meg said to Shia in the rudest way anyone can say. Shia's heart broke for a second, she wondered why someone would say that. Shia thought that she was always neutral, but apparently she never is.

"What the hell?" Dean said under his breath.

"Why don't you two let him do what he wants to do?" Meg yelled at him. "Stop dragging him over God's green earth."

"Meg, it's all right," Sam tried to calm her down, leaving the four in a rather uncomfortable silence.

"Okay, awkward," Shia eventually said with a low whistle, her voice was shaking...it was clear that Meg hurt her feelings a little. "We're gonna get a drink now." Taking her boyfriend by the arm, Shia guided him away to the bar, his eyes still watching Sam with a puzzled look.

"Sam, I'm sorry," Meg said. "It's just... the way you told me they treat you... If it were me, I'd kill them."

"It's all right," Sam said. "They mean well."

"Well, we should hook up while you're in town," Meg told him. "I'll show you a hell of a time."

"You know what, that sounds great. Why don't you, uh... why don't you give me your number?" Sam said, taking out his cell phone, putting in Meg's number as she gave it to him. "You know what, I never got your last name."

"Masters," Meg told him.

"Masters?" Sam questioned, to which Meg nodded.

"So, you better call," Meg said with a smile.

"Scout's Honor," Sam said.

"I hope to see you around, Sam," Meg said, to which Sam smiled and walked away.

Outside the bar, Sam was now stood with Dean and Shia again, lost in thought as they headed to the car. Tons of questions about Meg and the two times they that had 'accidentally' bumped into each other now were battling with each other for supremacy.

"Who the hell was she?" Dean's voiced broke into his mind.

"I don't really know. I only met her once," Sam said, still slightly distracted. "Meeting up with her again? I don't know, man, it's weird.

"And what was she saying? We treat you like luggage?" Shia said angrily. "What, were you bitching about us to some girl?"

"Look, I'm sorry, guys," Sam said, trying to nullify his brother and best friend. "It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana. But that's not important, just listen..."

"I wasn't even apart of the the damn fight! How dare you?! How dare you accuse me of taking sides based on who I sleep with?! Screw you!" Shia yelled at the younger Winchester, Dean took her hand and gave Shia a look to calm her down.

"Well, is there any truth to what she's saying?" Dean said, really not letting this go. "I mean, are we keeping you against your will, Sam?"

"No, of course not," Sam answered. "Now, would you two listen?"

"What?" Shia said, anger still in her voice.

"I think there's somethin' strange going on here, guys," Sam said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn't even that into me," Dean said. Shia nudged her elbow in Dean's ribs to shut him up about other women while she is not in the mood to deal with it.

"No, man, I mean like our kind of strange," Sam said, trying to get him on the professional topic. "Like, maybe even a lead." Shia's face softened all of the sudden finding interest in what Sam was saying.

"Why do you say that?" Shia said, working with Sam on this one.

"I met Meg weeks ago," Sam began to retell. "Literally on the side of the road. And now, I run into her in some random Chicago bar? I mean, the same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural? You don't think that's a little weird?"

"I don't know, random coincidence," Shia suggested. "It happens."

"Yeah, it happens," Sam agreed. "But not to us. Look, I could be wrong, I'm just sayin' that there's something about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on."

"Well, I bet you'd like to. I mean, maybe she's not a suspect, maybe you've got a thing for her, huh?" Dean said with a smirk. Sam just rolled his eyes with a small laugh. "Maybe you're thinkin' a little too much with your upstairs brain, huh?" As he pointed to his head, Sam and Shia just looked at him, Shia moving closer to touch his chest.

"It's a good thing you're hot," Shia told him.

"Do me a favor," Sam said, getting back on topic. "Check and see if there's really a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts, and see if you can't dig anything up on that symbol on Meredith's floor."

"What are you gonna do?" Shia asked.

"I'm gonna watch Meg," Sam told them simply.

"Yeah, you are," Dean said with another cheeky grin.

"I just wanna see what's what," Sam defended himself. "Better safe than sorry."

"All right, you little pervert," Dean quipped.

"Dude," Sam said to him.

"We're going, we're going," Shia said, linking her arm through Dean's and the pair of them heading across the round and to the motel.

Back in their motel room, Dean and Shia were sat at the table, laptop open in front of them and a number of different books and research papers around, all one the same thing. Looking for information about the symbol they had found in Meredith's apartment, and on Meg. And, despite not, having Sam, they had done pretty well. Which was why Shia was on her cell trying to contact Sam.

"Hey," Sam's voice answered.

"Let me guess," Shia said. "You're being a perv and lurking outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?"

"No," Sam said, even though right now he was in fact sat in the car in front of Meg's apartment, watching for anything strange. And Shia knew that, which was why she kept quiet, waiting for a different answer. "Yes."

"You've got a funny way of showing your affection. I'm going to have to teach you some more people skills," Shia laughed.

"Did you find anything on her or what?" Sam said defensively.

"Sorry, honey, she checks out," Shia told him. "There is a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook. I even pulled up her high school photo."

"Tell him to go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading, or whatever it is he does," Dean interrupted her from behind her.

"You hear him?" Shia asked into the phone looking over her shoulder to see her boyfriend cheekily grinning.

"What about the symbol?" Sam asked Shia, ignoring Dean's comment. "Any luck?"

"Yeah, that I did have some luck with," Shia said, going back to her research. "It's, uh... turns out it's Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for a Daeva."

"What's a Daeva?" Sam asked.

"It translates to 'demon of darkness'," Shia said. "Zoroastrian demons, and they're savage, animalistic, you know, nasty attitudes. Kind of like, uh, demonic pit bull doggys."

"How'd you figure that out?" Sam questioned with a smirk.

"Give me some credit," Shia said. "You don't have a corner on paper chasing around here."

"You, yeah, but Dean? Name the last book he read," Sam said. Shia turned to look at Dean beside her, who was sat with the same bored look he had had since they started their research.

"You're right. Honestly, I didn't even know your brother is capable of reading," Shia said with a small laugh. "No, we called your Dad's friend, Caleb. He told us."

"Yeah," Sam said, looking up at Meg's darkened bedroom window, still no movement.

"Anyway, here's the thing," Shia continued. "These Daevas, they have to be summoned, conjured."

"So, someone's controlling it?" Sam surmised.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," Shia said. "And, from what I gather, it's pretty risky business, too. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them. And, uh, the arms, and torsos."

"So, what do they look like?" Sam asked.

"Well, nobody knows, but nobody's seen 'em for a couple of millennia," Shia said. "I mean, summoning a demon that ancient? Someone really knows their stuff. I think we've got a major player in town."

"Right," Sam said.

"Give me the phone," Dean said, reaching towards Shia for it.

"Don't you see me talking?" Shia replied, moving out of his reach.

"Shia..." Dean growled out, lunging for the phone this time. But Shia kept a tight hold of it, and Sam could only listen to the sounds of thuds and thumps on the other end as the two fought for the piece of equipment.

"Grow up for a second, Will you? Damn it, Dean, let go of the phone!" Shia screamed at him.

"You grow up, Shia, and just give me the damn phone!" Dean said, finally wrenching the phone from Shia's grip, giving her a smug look. Shia just thumped him hard as she could across the arm and sulked in her chair.

"Sam?" Dean said into the retrieved phone. "Now, why don't you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram?"

"Bite me," Sam snapped out at him.

"No, bite her. Don't leave teeth marks, though..." Dean began, but Sam just hung up on him. "Sam? Are you...?" But Sam wasn't there. Dean hung up as well, turning to look at Shia with a somewhat apologetic smile, or his version of one, but Shia just sent him a death glare and turned away.

"Awe, come on, babe. I had to say it." Dean said walking over to his girlfriend, he pulled her out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Go away, I'm mad at you," Shia pouted.

"Ah, you don't mean that," Dean said sending Shia a smirk, she shook her head at him. Dean leaned down and gave her soft kisses on her neck making her giggle. God, he loved the sound of her laugh. "You know since Sammy won't be back for a while, we should take a little break." Shia rolled her eyes at her cheeky boyfriend. She gave him a soft kiss, but everything turned passionate. They moved things to the bed, enjoying every passionate moment with each other.

Still sat outside Meg's apartment, Sam looked up just in time to see the lights switch on as Meg entered her bedroom, wearing nothing but a black lace bra. Sam looks just a little uncomfortable for a second, before the greater good of needing to know what she was up to won out and he went back to watching her as she put on a T-shirt.

The sound of someone clearing their throat inches away from him drew Sam's attention to his side window, where a young woman was staring in at him before gesturing up towards Meg's window.

"Oh, no, no, no, I'm just..." Sam began.

"Pervert," the woman spat out at him before walking angrily away from a stunned Sam. But his attention was drawn again by the sound of a door opening and Sam turned to see Meg, dressed in a sweatshirt and jacket now, walking across the street. She glanced at the parked car once, but Sam had ducked down out of view, sliding back up once she had gone, and stepping out of the car to follow her one foot.

He followed Meg until she stopped at a graffiti-covered wall, looking around for any prying eyes before pulling back part of the wall which seemed to turn into a door. Once she was inside, Sam did the same, peering round the building before following her through the wall.

Walking inside the building, Sam was far enough behind Meg to walk up a flight of stairs and to a door, which he couldn't open. Looking around for another way in, Sam found an open elevator gate, using that to climb steadily to the top floor. At the top, Sam could just about see through the gate into a dimly lit room where he could just about see Meg. There she was, stood before a black altar with a silver bowl in her hand that seemed to be filled with... blood.

Sam continued to watch as Meg spoke an incantation in some foreign language while swirling her finger in the blood, the blood still swirling on it's own as Meg then went on to speak to a voice only she seemed to be able to hear.

"I don't think you should come," Meg said, waiting and listening to the response she could hear.

"Because the three of them, they're in town, I didn't know that..."

The unseen voice responded.

"Yes, sir."

Meg again waited for the unseen voice.

"Yes, I'll be here, waiting for you."

Meg sat the bowl down, blowing out the candles and leaving the room as Sam looked on, confused at just what he had seen. When he had thought that maybe Meg had been involved with something, it hadn't been this.

Heaving himself the rest of the way into the room through the elevator shaft, Sam walked to the altar to get a better look at it. There were a couple of ancient items, the missing hearts from the victims round town, but the thing that got Sam's attention was the Zoroastrian symbol drawn in blood in the centre of the table.

Making his way back to the hotel, Sam was two steps through the door before he was quickly ambushed by Dean and Shia.

"I gotta talk to you," all three voices spoke out at once.

Sam was the one to speak first, bringing Dean and Shia up to date on just what he had seen inside the abandoned building.

"So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva?" Dean said once he was filled in.

"Looks like she was using that black altar to control the thing," Sam told them.

"So, Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl," Dean said with a chuckle, Sam rolling his eyes. "And what's the deal with that bowl again?"

"She was talking into it," Sam said. "The way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with someone."

"With who? With the Daeva?" Dean asked.

"No, you said those things were savages," Sam said. "No, this was someone different. Someone who's giving her orders. Someone who's comin' to that warehouse."

Listening to this, Shia spoke for a moment before a thought, what she and Dean had been about to say when Sam had entered, suddenly came back to her and she flipped through the files on the table.

"Holy friggin' crap," Shia muttered.

"What?" Sam asked.

"What we were gonna tell you earlier," Shia told him. "Dean pulled a favor with his...'friend', Amy, over at the police department. The complete records of the two victims, we missed something the first time."

"What?" Sam repeated, coming over to look at the records.

"The first victim, the old man. He spent his whole life in Chicago, but he wasn't born here. Look where he was born," Shia said, pointing to part of the page.

"Lawrence, Kansas," Sam read off.

"Yeahhhh," Shia said, picking up the second file. "Meredith, second victim, turns out she was adopted. And guess where she's from." Shia pushes the file towards him, which reads 'Lawrence, Kansas' as the birth place. Shocked, Sam sits on the table across from Dean and Shia.

"Holy friggin' crap," Sam parroted Shia's early statement.

"Yeah," Dean agreed.

"I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom," Sam continued. "That's where everything started. So, you think Meg's tied up with the demon?"

"I think it's a definite possibility," Dean said.

"But I don't understand," Sam said. "What's the significance of Lawrence? And how do these Daeva things fit in?"

"Beats me," Dean said with a shrug. "But I say we trash that black altar, grab Meg, and have ourselves a friendly little interrogation."

"No, we can't," Sam told him. "We shouldn't tip her off. We've gotta stake out that warehouse. We've gotta see who, or what, is showin' up to meet her."

"I'll tell you one thing," Dean added. "I don't think we should do this alone."

Sam and Dean were in total agreement that they needed help, which was why Dean was now sat on the bed beside Shia in the motel room, leaving a message on his voicemail.

"We think we've got a serious lead on the thing that killed Mom," Dean continued on the phone. "So, uh, this warehouse, it's 1435 West Erie. Dad, if you get this, get to Chicago as soon as you can."

As he hung up, Sam walked back into the motel room, lugging a bag behind him.

"Voicemail?" he asked.

"Yeah," Dean said as Shia gestured to the bag in his hand.

"Dude, what'd you get?" she asked.

"I ransacked that trunk," Sam said with a chuckle, dumping the bag onto the other bed. "Holy water, every weapon that I could think of, exorcism rituals from about a half dozen religions. I'm not sure what to expect, so I guess we should just expect everything."

"At least you're prepared, huh?" Shia said.

Dean nodded as he and Shia stood up, all three of them loading and checking the weapons in silence.

"Big night," Dean suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Sam answered simply.

"Are you guys nervous?" Shia asked the boys.

"No," they answered together, a little too quickly.

"Why, are you?" Dean asked Shia.

"Hell no," Shia said, knocking the room into silence for a second time.

"God, could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing?" Sam suddenly said, a cheerful tone to his voice. "That demon?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?" Dean said.

"I know. I'm just sayin', what if we did?" Sam went on. "What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month. Go back to school, be a person again."

"You wanna go back to school?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, once we're done huntin' the thing," Sam answered truthfully.

"Huh," Dean said simply.

"Why, is there somethin' wrong with that?" Sam asked.

"No," Dean said, again too quickly. "No, it's, uh, great. Good for you."

"I mean, what are you gonna do when it's all over?" Sam asked both Dean and Shua.

"Its never gonna be over," Dean chose to answer this one. "There's gonna be others. There's always gonna be somethin' to hunt."

"But there's got to be somethin' that you want for yourself..." Sam began.

"Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam," Dean interrupted, turning his back on Sam to walk to the dresser.

"What's your problem?" Sam asked. Both Dean remained silent for the moment, Dean walking over to stand beside Shia before turning round to Sam.

"Why do you think I drag you everywhere? Huh?" Dean said. "I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?"

"'Cause Dad was in trouble," Sam answered. "'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom."

"Yes, that, but it's more than that, man," Dean said, the room hitting a moment of silence again. "You and me and Shia and Dad... I mean, I want us... I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again."

"Dean, we are a family," Sam clarified. "I'd do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before."

"Could be," Dean said, the heartbreak clear in his voice.

"I don't want them to be," Sam said. "I'm not gonna live this life forever. Dean, when this is all over, you're gonna have to let me go my own way."

And those words just added to the heartbreak for Dean. Once Dean was out of earshot, Sam walked over to Shia.

"You never said what you want once this is over," Sam whispered to his best friend.

"Well, I don't know. Maybe get a house, settle down. Convince Dean to marry me. Get a chance to get to know my brothers," Shia replied, Sam didn't understand why she said she want to get to know her brother when she knows him and Dean already...better than they know each other.

"Brothers?" Sam asked just to clear up his thought.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't mention them yet, huh? Well I have two brothers born from my mother Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War."

"Athena's your mother?!"

"Yeah, forgot to also mention what god is one of my parents."

"Anything else you want to tell the class?" Dean's voice said behind the interacting friends.

"I'll tell you guys more later, but as for right now...we should get going." Shia said as she walked pass both brothers.

Back at the warehouse, Dean and Shia were following Sam up the same way he had gone in last time, Meg already up and in front of the black altar, chanting in that foreign language. Once out of the elevator shaft and inside the building, Sam, Dean and Shia crept round the back of the room, hiding behind crates, unnoticed.

"Guys," Meg's voice suddenly rung out in English, their hiding place not so hidden. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

"Damn," Shia mumbled under her breath.

"Well, that didn't work out like I planned," Dean muttered to the other two as Meg turned towards their position.

"Why don't you come out?" Meg called, and the trio did, their guns cautiously out in the open in front of them. "Sam, I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Dean said.

"So, where's your little Daeva friend?" Dean asked.

"Around," Meg said, the innocent girl now gone. "You know, that shotgun's not gonna do much good."

"Oh, baby girl. Trust me, the shotguns not for the demon," Shia said.

"So, who is it, Meg?" Sam asked. "Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?"

"You," Meg answered.

Just then, the shadows that had stalked Meredith began to form on the walls, a group of them stalking towards Sam, Dean and Shia at the back of the room. Sam was the first to go, his feet taken from under him as Dean and Shia were thrown backwards, knocked heavily into the back brick wall. That same sharp-nailed hand rose at Sam, slashing down to form a slash across his cheek. The first bodily sign of trauma before he was knocked unconscious along with Dean and Shia.

Later that night, none of them were sure how long later, Sam woke up to find himself tied to one of the posts in the warehouse. He looked round to see Meg in front of him, and Dean and Shia tied together to the other post beside him.

"Hey, Sam?" Shia said, seeing Sam awake. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend... is a bitch."

"This, the whole thing, was a trap," Sam spoke to Meg. "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it? And that the victims were from Lawrence?"

"It doesn't mean anything," Meg clarified. "It was just to draw you in, that's all."

"You killed those two people for nothin'," Sam said.

"Baby, I've killed a lot more for a lot less," Meg said.

"You trapped us," Dean said, bringing her attention to him. "Good for you. It's Miller time. But why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" Meg said, moving closer to Dean. "This trap isn't for you."

Sam and Dean were puzzled by her words, but Shia was quicker on the uptake.

"John," Shia said. "It's a trap for your Dad."

"I guess woman really are smarter," Meg said with a smile at Dean, telling them Shia was right. Meg walked over to Shia and slapped her hard on the face, Shia's eyes went blue/white as she tried to use her powers.

"Oh, sweetie, you can't use your powers. I tied you up with some special rope!" Meg said as she giggled next to Shia. Shia was becoming weak so she decided to give up.

"Why don't you rest and try again later?" Meg said to Shia before punching her across the fast, Meg turned around to look at Dean. "Now, about John..."

"Oh, sweetheart," Dean said with a smirk of his own. "You're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good."

"He is pretty good. I'll give you that," Meg said, moving even closer to Dean so she was straddling his outstretched legs. "But you see, he has one weakness."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"You. He lets his guard down around you three, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town. And he'll come and try to save you. And then the Daevas will kill everybody, nice and slow and messy," Meg said to Dean before turning to Shia. "Just like what happened to your foster parents after you left that night. They didn't know what the hell was going on, didn't know who or why they were getting killed for."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Shia asked weakly.

"Diane and Frank Robinson, they died a couple nights after you ran away. Your slut mother saved you by taking you away. I hate gods, they think they can interfere with everything. She's gonna feel pretty shitty when I kill in a little bit."

"Oh, you just love the sound of your voice, don't you?" Dean said, trying to pull Meg's attention back to him.

"Oh, Dean, coming to your girls rescue," Meg said with a smirk at him. "Not that it matters, of course. After John, it's your turn."

"Well, I've got news for ya," Dean told her. "It's gonna take a lot more than some... shadow to kill him."

"Oh, the Daevas are in the room here, they're invisible," Meg said. "Their shadows are just the only part you can see."

"Why you doin' this, Meg?" Sam spoke up again. "What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with who?"

"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do," Meg told them. "Loyalty. Love. Like the love you had for Mommy... and Jess."

"Go to hell," Sam spat out at her.

"Baby, I'm already there," Meg said, sliding back over to Sam with a smile. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty. I think we both know how you really feel about me. You know, I saw you watching me, changing in my apartment. Turned you on, didn't it?"

"Get a room, you two," Dean said to them, Shia still feeling weak beside him.

"I didn't mind," Meg said, ignoring Dean as she began kissing his neck. "I liked that you were watching me. Come on, Sammy. You and I can still have a little dirty fun."

"You wanna have fun? Go ahead then. I'm a little tied up right now," Sam told her, and she did, continuing to kiss him. It was a noise from Dean and Shia's side of the room that stopped her, making her look up and move back to Dean. Stepping behind the post, she saw Dean trying to cut through his ropes with a small knife. Tossing it away into the corner, Meg swung round to face Dean, who smiled at her with a chuckle. Meg simply moved back over to Sam.

"Now, were you just trying to distract me while your brother cuts free?" Meg said to Sam.

"No. No," Sam replied. "That's because I have a knife of my own."

Meg pulled back, looking at Sam confused. But that only lasted a second as Sam pulled his hands that he had been cutting free away, grabbing Meg by the shoulders and head butting her. She toppled back, falling to the ground, allowing Sam to get up.

"Sam! Get the altar," Dean yelled at his brother from his position still tied to the post. Sam headed right that way, grabbing the table and heaving it over. The contents of the black altar scattered, the demons were no longer under control, so they went after the ones who had put them on a leash: Meg.

Conversing from all over the room to just one point, the demon grabbed Meg kicking and screaming, throwing her from the window to crash down to the street below, sprawled in a rather uncomfortable looking position. One that most definitely meant she was not walking away from this attack.

Meg and the demons dealt with, Sam moved back across the room to free Dean and Shia, the three needing to see proof of her body lay on the floor.

"So, I guess the Daevas didn't like being bossed around," Sam said as they looked down through the broken window at Meg.

"Yeah, I guess not," Dean said. "Hey, Sam? Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets-o'-crazy, huh?"

Dean grinned at Sam, turning to Shia just in time to see her silently, like she had been since Meg had spoke to her, walk from the room. Not too keen on her being alone right now, especially considering the way she was limping a little from the first time she had been thrown by the Daeva, Dean was right behind her.

Their journey back to their motel had been in relative silence, Sam carrying the bag up the motel stairs now, Dean helping Shia walk along.

"Why didn't you just leave that stuff in the car?" Dean asked Sam.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again," Sam replied. "Better safe than sorry."

Dean just shook his head as he unlocked the door with his free hand, pushing it open. Before they had chance to flick the light switch, a silhouette of a man stood by the window grabbed their attention.

"Hey!" Dean called as Sam flicked on the lights. The man now turned round, his face bathed in light so the trio could see just who it was. And John Winchester was now stood in front of them.

Sam, Dean and Shia stood in shock. All this time searching, and now here he was, stood in their motel room.

"Dad?" Dean mumbled, his voice sounding like that of a small boy.

"Hey, guys," John said to the trio.

Having heard the emotion in Dean's voice, Shia gently pulled herself out of his arms, leaning into the wall to let Dean move forward, embracing his father. From behind them, both Sam and Shia watched this scene.

"Hi, Sam," John said to his younger son as he and Dean pulled apart.

"Hey, Dad," Sam said softly, lowering his bag of weapons to the floor. Her footing going, Shia stumbled slightly against the wall, Dean moving to her side in an instant to hold her up, bring John's attention to her as well.

"Shia, sweetheart," John said to her softly. "Still looking out for my boys?"

"As always," Shia said with a small smile before leaning her head closer into Dean's shoulder, Dean's arm's tightening round her.

"What happened?" John asked Dean, noticing this.

"The demons just then," Dean started. "They... Shia's foster parents after she left... they were..."

John knew exactly what he was saying. He moved closer to the pair, taking Shia from Dean and hugged Shia as tight as possible.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," John said quietly just to her. Shia leaned into John for a moment, excepting his comfort, before pulling back and letting Dean take over again.

"Dad, it was a trap," Dean said. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I thought it might've been," John said.

"Were you there?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive," John said. "She was the bad guy, right?"

"Yes, sir," Sam and Dean both chorused, falling into their natural role with their father.

"Good," John said. "Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before."

"The demon has?" Sam asked.

"It knows I'm close," John said. "It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell, actually kill it."

"How?" Dean asked.

"I'm workin' on that," John said with a smile.

"Let us come with you. We'll help," Sam said, earning him a warning look from Dean.

"No, Sam," John said. "Not yet. Just try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in a crossfire. I don't want you hurt."

"Dad, you don't have to worry about us," Sam said.

"Of course I do. I'm your father," John said, pausing for a moment. "Listen, Sammy, last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."

"Yes, sir," Sam answered.

"It's good to see you again," John told him. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," Sam said.

And with those few words, that was it. The friction between them was gone and they truly were father and son again as Sam took Dean's lead, moving forward to embrace his father.

They had only pulled away for a moment, the four sharing an emotion filled look, when the shadow demons were back, throwing both John and Sam across the room.

"No!" Dean called out, but it was too late. He and Shia were next, flying across the room in the opposite direction.

While the four struggled against the demons, none of them knew that outside their motel room, Meg, the girl who had fallen stories from a building, was stood watching the scene unfold, gripping to the pendent round her neck of the Zoroastrian symbol that was controlling them again.

Inside the motel room, Sam, Dean, Shia and John were being thrown round the room, scratches about on their faces as their claws were raised and lowered over and over again. Sam finally managed to pull away from the onslaughts as most of the blows were falling on John, reaching for the weapons bag and pulling out a flare.

"Shut your eyes!" Sam yelled to the other three. "These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!"

As they all did, Sam lit the flare, the room instantly filled with smoke and a bright white light, banishing the demons. Coughing and spluttering through the smoke, the four now tried to feel their way round the room.

"Sam, you got him?" Dean yelled randomly into the room.

"Yeah," Sam said, taking the bag and moving closer to his father and Dean moved over to Shia. The Winchester brother's taking a hold of their respective family members, the four of them managed to get out of the room, making it out to the parking lot where Dean's car and John's truck was, Sam throwing the weapons bag into the trunk.

"Why do they always have to pick on the Demi God?" Shia said as she leant into Dean.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Dean said, trying to bring back his joking, smiling girlfriend.

"All right, come on. We don't have much time," Sam spoke to the other three. "As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."

"Wait, wait. Sam, wait," Dean said. "Dad, you can't come with us."

"What?" Sam questioned. "What are you talkin' about?"

"You three, you're beat to hell," John said, looking round at the trio in front of him.

"We'll be all right," Dean told him.

"Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons..." Sam began.

"Sam! Listen to me!" Dean called over his brother. "We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop, they're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He's... he's stronger without us around."

"Sam, Dean's right...," Shia said softly.

"Dad, no," Sam said, getting desperate as he grabbed his father's shoulders. "After everything, after all the time we spent lookin' for you... please. I gotta be a part of this fight."

"Sammy," John said, placing his hand over one of Sam's. "This fight is just starting. And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you've got to trust me, son. Okay, you've gotta let me go."

The street was silent for a minute, Dean and Shia watching on close to tears as they waited for Sam's response. Finally, he smiled softly, patting John's shoulder but letting go, showing he understood. They all shared an look before John left first, moving to his truck, turning back only once.

"Be careful, guys," John muttered to himself before getting into his truck and driving away.

"Come on," Dean said, guiding Sam and Shia over to the car and driving away.

Again, what they failed to notice was Meg watching as the car drove away.


	14. Chapter 14: Hell House (1x17)

One week ago.

It was dark, and Shia was all alone in a big house that seem familiar to her. It was her foster parents house...a place she used to call her home.

"Mom? Dad? Sam? Dean?" Shia called out as she ran in and out the house, she went upstairs and walked the familiar hallway. Shia came face to the door to her old room, she saw the dark figure in front of her.

"You killed them, you know? It could have been you, not them." The dark figure told her.

"And who the hell are you?" Shia snapped at the figure in front of her. The man walked into a spot where the moonlight hit perfectly, he was tall, pale, and had...yellow eyes. "Yellow eyes..."

"I prefer to be called Azazel. Anyways, I wish you would have died, now soon something more powerful than any normal Si-God will come..." he said walking towards Shia.

"It's Demi-God, idiot..." Shia said with a sly smirk. "What? You think I'm scared of you?"

"No, I don't. I know you're not afraid of me. Want to know the truth?"

"What?"

"I'm glad you're not dead."

"And why's that?" Shia asked sternly but curiously.

"The Si-God will come soon since you're still alive..." Azazel said before disappearing.

Shia snapped open her eyes gasping for air with her eyes rolled to the back of her eyes, she wasn't in the room of her old home anymore. She was beside Dean in the motel bed. Shia got up and threw on some clothes, the clock read 2:45. Outside it was cold, the wind blew softly against her cheek.

"Shia?" a voice behind her said, she turned to come face to face with one of her older brothers, Julius.

"Jay?" Shia asked.

"Yeah. It's me. It's been a while since we seen each other. How have you been?"

"No disrespect or anything, but let's cut the small chat. Why are you here?" Shia asked not trying to sound as harsh as she's being.

"I had a feeling that something was wrong, you didn't answer my last phone call. Hell, you didn't even call back," Julius said sadly, Shia smiled softly at the man in front of her...he might be older than her but he makes her feel like she's the older one.

"Yeah. Sorry. Hey, what's a Si-God?" Shia asked her brother, he looked at her curiously.

"Uh, I don't know actually. I have heard the name before, I'll get home and hit the books...make some calls. Talk to Michael."

"How is he?"

"Well, he stopped hunting with me about a month ago. He gets busy in his everyday life to fight evil. You know he's a doctor now..."

"Yeah, I know. He told me that the last time we talked," Shia told the young man in front of her. Julius looked at his sister with such curiosity. Where has she heard something about a Si-God? Damn it. Where have he heard of it?

"Where is all of this coming from? Si-God? Did something happen?"

"The yellow eyed demon told me," Shia said nonchalantly.

"When? Did he hurt you?" Julius said with anger building up inside him, he got so mad that his eyes went a blazing green/white color.

"Hey, calm down. He didn't hurt me, but he did say because of me a Si-God will come."

"Right, well, I'll look after you more now. And as soon as I get back to my place I'll hit the books. I have to go...one of the Winchesters woke up,"

"Wait, you'll have to meet them sometime." Shia said with a playful eye roll.

"Yeah, well, try explaining how you're outside in the middle of the night talking to some dude. I'll see you later little sis," Julius said before orbing away and giving her a kiss on the cheek. The motel door open as soon as Julius left, the person who opened the door was Dean...his hair messy, chest showing. Dean looked at his girlfriend with a tired expression.

"Shia, babe, what the hell are you doing out here? Would you come back to bed? Please?" Dean said grabbing Shia's hand and dragging on the bed they share.

Now in the present day, ghost, monster and down right anything weird hunters Sam and Dean Winchester, along with Shia Colten, are driving down the interstate to their latest hunt. After begging her boyfriend over and over, Shia is driving, Dean in the seat beside her, while Sam dozes peacefully behind them. Seeing this however, Dean is in the mood to interrupt Sam's peace.

Taking a plastic spoon from the glove box in front of him, Dean cautiously sticks it into Sam's mouth, thankfully not waking him. He does, however, grab Shia's attention as she watches him, one eye on the road one in the rear view mirror.

"You're so immature, you know that," she says with a laugh.

"Yeah, but its fun," is Dean's only answer as he takes out a cell phone to take a snap shot of his sleeping brother. With a laugh, Shia finally relents, letting Dean turn up the volume on the radio, and even singing along with him as it blares out.

"A fire of unknown origin took my baby away!" the pair sing-along, rudely waking Sam, who immediately spits the spoon out as Dean and Shia, still laughing over the heavy music, drum along to the beat on the steering wheel and dashboard.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Sam mumbles out, reaching forward to lower down the blaring rock music.

"Sorry," Dean said, although the little chuckle takes away it's meaning. "Not a lot of scenery here in east Texas, you kind of gotta make your own.

"You know, you're not kids anymore, guys," Shia says, laughing herself. "You're not gonna start that BS up again."

"Start what up?" Dean asks.

"That prank stuff," Sam finishes before Shia does. "It's stupid, and it always escalates."

"Oh, what's the matter, Sammy, you afraid you're gonna get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?" Dean challenges with a smile.

"All right," Sam says, accepting the challenge. "Just remember, you started it."

"Oh, bring it on, Baldy," Dean retorts.

"Wait, I don't want to get involved in this. It never ends pretty," Shia said keeping her eyes on the road.

"You'll get involved...you always do," Dean grinned at the girl sitting beside him.

"Where are we, anyway?" Sam asked, bringing the conversation back round to their job.

"Few hours outside of Richardson," Dean answered. "Give me the lowdown again."

"All right," Sam said, reaching forward to grab the piece of paper resting on the dashboard. "About a month or two ago, this group of kids goes pokin' around in this local haunted house."

"Haunted by what?"

"Apparently, a pretty misogynistic spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings 'em up in the rafters."

"It's always a damn girl," Shia interjects. "Why is it always male ghosts that go after girls? Do they like, form a little club once their dead or something? Like they don't do enough when they're friggin' alive! Like seriously it's annoying, I'm sick of always being bait and becoming the damsel in distress...it's f'd up!"

Sam and Dean merely watched Shia, waiting for her to finish her little rant. They knew by know it was just her way of getting things out, constantly stuck in a car and motel room with two boys, whether she loved them both unconditionally or not. No matter how many times she complained about them, she'd never leave. She had far too much fun with the Winchester boys.

So they just waited until she was finished, Sam continuing on with the details of their latest case like she hadn't said anything.

"Anyway, this group of kids see this dead girl hangin' in the cellar."

"Anybody ID the corpse?"

"Well, that's the thing. By the time the cops got there, the body was gone. So, cops are sayin' the kids were just yankin' chains."

"Well, maybe the cops are right."

"Maybe," Shia said, this time putting in something to do with the case. "But I read a couple of the kids' firsthand accounts. They seem pretty sincere."

"Where'd you read these accounts?" Dean asked her.

"Well, I knew we were gonna be passing through Texas. So, uh, last night I searched some local...paranormal websites," Shia said, causing Dean to roll his eyes at her. "And I found one."

"And what's it called?" Dean asked. Shia looked at him, reluctant to answer the question and biting at her bottom lip. Dean just smiled, having to admit that she really did look cute when she did that.

"Hell Hound's Lair dot com," she finally admitted.

"Let me guess," Dean said. "Streaming live out of Mom's basement."

"Yeah, most likely," Shia agreed with a little laugh.

"Yeah, most of those websites wouldn't know a ghost if it bit 'em in the persqueeter," Dean continued.

"Look," Sam interjected. "We let Dad take off, which was a mistake, by the way. And now, we don't know where the hell he is, so, in the meantime, we've got to find ourselves something to hunt. There's no harm checkin' this thing out."

"All right," Dean said, giving in. "So, where do we find these kids?"

"Same place you always find kids in a town like this," Sam replied.

That place happened to be the local Rodeo Drive-In café. And, as suspected, three of the four teenagers from that night two months ago were all sat around, pretty eager to answer Sam, Dean and Shia's questions. But eager did not mean accurate, as the trio soon found out.

When asked what the house was like, they found out that the walls were painted in blood, black paint, or even nothing, as the girl had her eyes closed the whole time.

When asked about the girl, they were told she had blonde, black or even red hair, and she was hanging from the rafters, both kicking and lifeless. And, from one boy, they even got the reply that she was kinda hot, in a dead sort of way!

There was only one thing that all three seemed to think alike on. When asked how they found out about the place, they all gave the same answer.

A boy named Craig took them.

Since their best bet for information now seemed to be Craig Thurston, that's who the trio needed to talk to next, finding him at his place of work, the local record store.

"Gentlemen, lady," Craig said in greeting as they walked up to him. "Can I help you with anything? Especially you pretty lady," Craig finished up saying...ending with giving Shia a wink. Shia was nice enough to give the boy and smile, but Dean simply glared at him.

"Yeah, are you Craig Thurston?" Sam asked him.

"I am," Craig answered.

"Well, we're reporters with the Dallas Morning News," Shia told him. "I'm Shia, this is Sam and Dean."

"No way," Craig said with a wide smile. "Yeah, I'm a writer, too. I write for my school's lit magazine. We should get together and write stories together sometime."

"Oh, good for you, Morrison. And look kid...I'm too old for you so don't flirt with me...not in front of my boyfriend at least," Shia said with a smile of her own, this one slightly strained. Craig looked over to the irritated Dean, he put two pieces together to know that Shia and him are together.

"We're doing an article on local hauntings, and rumour has it you might know about one," Sam added before a fight broke out.

"You mean the Hell House?" Craig said enthusiastically.

"That's the one," Dean snapped .

"I didn't think there was anything to the story," Craig replied.

"Why don't you tell us the story?" Sam asked.

"Well," Craig began. "Supposedly, back in the thirties, this farmer, Mordechai Murdoch, used to live in the house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression. His crops were failing. He didn't have enough money to even feed his own children. So, I guess that's when he went off the deep end."

"How?" Sam encouraged him to go on.

"Well, he figured it was best if his girls died quick rather than starve to death," Craig continued. "So he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop. But he just strung them up, one after another. And then, when he was all finished, he turned around and hung himself. Now, they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringin' up any other girl who goes inside."

"But where'd you hear all this?" Dean asked, still trying to get to the point of all this.

"My cousin, Dana, told me," Craig answered. "I don't know where she heard it from. You've gotta realize I didn't believe this for a second."

"But now you do?" Shia asked him.

"I don't know what the hell to think, man," Craig said. "Guys, I'll tell you exactly what I told the police, okay? That girl was real, and she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God, I don't wanna go anywhere near that house ever again, okay?"

"Thanks, kid," Shia said as the group turned to leave, exchanging a look with the brothers. The other three teenagers might have come up with nothing, but after talking to Craig, they were beginning to think their 'it-was-all-a-hoax' theory was slowly getting thinner and thinner. And that one was their favorite .

Having got all the information they were likely to get out of the four who had been there that night, Sam, Dean and Shia now figured it was time to go look into the house themselves. And even they had to admit they didn't much like what they saw.

"Can't say I blame the kid," Sam said as they began to approach the old house that really did look like something right of the screen of a good horror movie.

"Yeah, so much for curb appeal," Shia said, Sam giving a small laugh as they moved round the outside of the building, EMF meters out and beeping.

"You got somethin'?" Sam asked Dean.

"Yeah," Dean answered, while Shia was looking round.

"Well, the EMF's no good," Shia said, turning her own off and slipping it back into her pocket.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"I think that thing's still got a little juice in it," Shia said, nodding to the nearby telephone pole. "It's gotta be screwing with all the readings."

"Yeah, that'd do it," Sam agreed, him and Dean both switching their own off.

"Yep. Come on, let's go," Dean said, walking them actually inside the house now.

Once inside, they saw exactly the same thing as the teenagers had. A dark room with painted symbols on the walls, only this group were a lot more likely to recognise those symbols.

"Looks like Old Man Murdoch was a bit of a tagger during his time," Dean said as they all looked round at the walls, Shia with her phone out to take pictures for future reference.

"And after his time, too," Sam noted. "The reversed cross has been used by Satanists for centuries, but this sigil of sulfur didn't show up in San Francisco until the sixties."

"This is exactly why you never get laid," Dean said, giving his brother an odd look while Shia just shook her head and walked to take a picture of the symbol Sam had noted. Dean turned his own attention back to the wall and symbol he was in front of. "Hey, what about this one? You seen this one before?" Sam and Shia walked over to join him, Shia again straight on with the pictures.

"No," Sam answered to Dean's question.

"I have. Somewhere," Dean said as Sam moved up closer, running his finger along the symbol Dean had pointed out.

"It's paint," he said, seeing it leave a mark against his skin. "Seems pretty fresh, too."

"I don't know, Sam," Shia said. "I mean, I hate to agree with authority figures of any kind, but the cops might be right about this one."

"Yeah, maybe," Seam agreed... until they heard a noise coming from the other room.

Moving towards it, they were prepared for whatever monster they might find behind that door. Except when they crashed through it, what stood in front of them was were two scared looking geeks with video equipment and flashlights.

"Cut!" One of them screamed. "Just some humans. What are you guys doing here?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shia threw back at them.

"Uh, we belong here," the geek said. "We're professionals."

"Professional what?" Dean asked.

"Paranormal investigators," the guy said, taking out a bunch of business cards and handing one each to Sam, Dean and Shia. "There ya go. Take a look at that, guys."

"Oh, you've gotta be kiddin' me," Dean said as they all read through the cards.

"Ed Zeddmore and Harry Spangler. Hell Hound's Lair dot com," Shia read off. "You guys run that website."

"Yeah," the guy who had been speaking all along, Ed, said.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're huge fans," Dean said, scanning round the room himself.

"And, uh, we know who you guys are, too," Ed said.

"Oh, yeah?" Sam asked, exchanging a nervous look with Dean and Shia. The kind they always got when someone said something like that.

"Amateurs," Ed continued, Sam, Dean and Shia now physically relaxing. "Lookin' for ghosts and cheap thrills."

"Yeah," the guy who had up to now been quiet, Harry, said. "So, if you guys don't mind, we're trying to conduct a serious scientific investigation here."

"Mmmm, hmmmm," Ed agreed.

"Yeah? What do you got so far?" Dean asked them.

"Uh, Harry, why don't you tell 'em about EMF?" Ed said. With a smile on her face, Shia found the perfect opportunity to play with these two guys. Stepping closer, she smiled there way, really going for the obvious as she began to flirt with them.

"EMF?" she said, her voice level dropping in pitch. That and the smile caused Ed and Harry to gulp noticeably, stumbling to answer her.

"Electromagnetic field," Harry eventually answered, taking an EMF meter from his bag, which was buzzing. "Spectral entities can cause energy fluctuations that can be read with an EMF detector, like this bad boy right here. Whoa, whoa. That's 2.8 MG."

"2.8," Ed repeated.

"It's hot in here," Harry said.

"My, oh, my," Shia breathed out, continuing to move closer to them. "So, have you guys ever really seen a ghost before, or...?"

"Once," Ed told her. "We were, uh... we were investigating this old house, and we saw a vase fall right off the table."

"By itself," Harry added.

"Well, we didn't actually see it, but we heard it," Ed amended, making Dean shake his head in shame for all the real hunters out there. "And something like that, it, uh... it changes you."

"Yeah. I think I get the picture," Dean said, moving closer to Sam and Shia with a grin. "We should go... let them get back to work."

"Yeah, you should," Harry said.

"Sam? Shia?" Dean called to them, leaving the room with Sam close behind. Shia lagged back a little in the room, turning to the Hell Hound boys and smiling with a coy wave before she left, knowing the whole time that their eyes were still on her.

"She was a babe," Harry said once she had left their eyesight.

"Definitely," Ed agreed.

Outside the room, Shia caught up with Sam and Dean, laughing as she moved up beside Dean, who wrapped his arm round his girlfriend's shoulders.

"You're immature, you know that," he said to her.

"Yeah, but its fun," Shia said, emulating his response to her in the car, the trio laughing as they left the house.

With the house showing up nothing, Sam, Dean and Shia split up to take the research from two new angles, Shia's being to spend a little time a the local library. Stepping down the stone steps, she met up with Sam and Dean as they headed her way, the three now walking together to the car.

"Hey," Shia said in greeting.

"Hey beautiful," Dean replied. "What do you got?"

"Well," Shia began. "I couldn't find a Mordechai, but I did turn up a Martin Murdoch who lived in that house in the thirties. He did have children, but only two of 'em, both boys. And there was no record he ever killed anybody. What about you?"

"Well," Sam began with his and Dean's side of the research. "Those kids didn't really give us a clear description of that dead girl, but I did hit up the police station. No matching missing persons... it's like she never existed."

"Dude, come on, man," Dean said as they finally reached the car. "We did our digging, this one's a bust, all right? For all we know, those Hell Hound boys made up the whole thing."

"Yeah, all right," Sam agreed reluctantly.

"So, I say we find ourselves a bar and some beers, and leave the legend to the locals," Dean said as he slid into the front seat of the car. Most definitely up for that over more research, Shia went to take the seat beside him, but was held back by Sam. She gave him a confused look, but he just held up his hand, telling her to wait. In a minute, she understood why.

The minute Dean turned the key to start the car, it practically exploded with life. The radio bellowed out some kind of fast paced music Dean would never listen to, the windscreen wipers frantically began swishing back and forth, and the whole car practically jumped with the force of it all as the engine kicked in as well. The car wasn't the only thing that jumped as Dean moved to quickly switch everything off before he got any more stares from the passing public.

Through all this, all Sam and Shia could do was stand there and laugh.

"What the...?" Dean started as he saw Sam slide into the seat beside him and Shia into the back, both still laughing. Sam, knowing he had Dean's attention, licked his finger, drew a number one in their air, then mouthed the word 'me' as he pointed to himself. "That's all you got? That's weak. That is Bush-league."

Again, all Sam and Shia could do was laugh.

"Babe, you got to admit. That was great. Your face," Shia said. Dean and Sam looked at the laughing girl behind them, they never seen her laugh so hard. Dean stared at her in awe. "What do I have something on my face?"

"No, you're just beautiful." Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother being corny with his best friend, he turned around to see Shia blush at Dean's comment.

Next day, before the trio left town, they decided to drive by the house one more time. And it was a good job they did, because what they found was the police surrounded by police, paramedics and onlookers, an ambulance parked beside a number of police cars while yellow tape was strapped around the area. The abandoned building looked a lot more alive then they had ever seen it.

Getting out of the car to find out what was going on, Sam, Dean and Shia watched as the paramedics carried Jill (The dead girl) out of the house in a body bag.

"What happened?" Dean asked one of the onlookers as they stopped beside him.

"Couple of cops say that poor girl hung herself in the house," he told them.

"Suicide?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. But she was a straight-A student, with a full ride to UT, too. It just don't make sense," the guy said as he walked away from the, leaving the trio to ponder what might be going on as they watched that young girl's body hauled into the back of the ambulance.

"What do you think?" Sam asked the two beside him.

"I think maybe we missed something," Shia answered him.

Later that night, while two sheriffs patrolled the building, Sam, Dean and Shia watched from a hidden spot in the trees.

"I guess the cops don't want anymore kids screwin' around in there," Sam noted.

"Yeah, but we still gotta get in there," Dean said, while Shia heard sounds behind them, someone whispering.

"I don't believe it," Shia groaned as she turned to see where the sound had come from. Sam and Dean turned with her to see Ed and Harry not so stealthily making their way towards the house, the packs of equipment they were carrying not helping at all.

"I got an idea," Dean said, standing up but still staying hidden as he yelled out into the trees. "Who ya gonna call?"

This got the desired effect as Ed and Harry stumbled to see where the noise had come from, making more noise themselves and revealing where they were to the sheriffs, who went chasing after them, giving Sam, Dean and Shia the chance to sneak into the unprotected house.

Inside, there was still one thing about this place that seemed to be bugging Dean.

"Man, where have I seen that symbol before?" he said, stopping in front of it. "It's killin' me!"

"Come on, we don't have much time," Sam said, him and Shia leading Dean down into the cellar. Looking around, Dean's eyes fell on the numerous jars stacked on the shelves.

"Hey, Sam," he called to his brother. "I dare you to take a swig of this."

"What the hell would I do that for?" Sam asked, Dean going silent as he thought of an answer.

"I double-dare you," is what he came up with, making Sam shake his head and Shia laugh.

"You're just a big kid at heart, aren't you?" Shia said to him.

"And you love me for it," Dean replied, pulling a still laughing Shia into a quick kiss.

A noise from the other side of the room grabbed all of their attentions, each pulling out their weapons and standing in front of the source of the sound, an old cabinet in the corner. Counting down, Sam quickly pulled the door open. When he did, several quite large rats scurried out across the floor, making Shia jumped closer to her boyfriend.

"Ugh, damn rats," Shia moaned.

"You'd rather it was a ghost?" Sam asked her.

"Uh, yeah," Shia stated, all three of them turning around to find that rats weren't the only things sharing the cellar with them.

Mordechai had suddenly appeared in front of them, axe raised high ready to bring down for a lethal blow. Sam was the quicker draw however, firing off a couple of shots into him until he dissolved into a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?" Sam complained.

"I don't know, and deep down I don't want to find out," Shia called out, eager to just get out of there now. "Come on, come on, come on,"

First in line to leave, she was also first in line for attack when Mordechai appeared in front of the again, smashing through the shelves before trying to swing at Shia. In defense, Shia held her hand using her powers to push the ghost force back...only her powers didn't work on the thing in front of her, Mordechai used a blade in his hand and stabbed Shia in the stomach. Shia felt nothing but pain.

"Go! Get out of here!" Shia called to the boys, the two of them getting past her, Shia punched Mordechai with force causing him to fall back, when Shia knew the boys were gone she just ran as fast as she could.

While all this was going on inside the house, Ed and Harry had managed to evade the cops and creep back into position outside the house.

"Maybe we should just go," Harry told Ed.

"No," Ed said firmly. "Would John Edward go? Now, we've lost the cops, let's find our centre, and get some work done, okay?" Harry nodded, agreeing, Ed not noticing if it was a little reluctantly.

"All right," Ed said, him and Harry turning towards the front door of the house. But before they could get in, Sam, Dean and Shia came running out. Ed and Harry, however, didn't miss a beat, their cameras up to catch whatever was going on.

"Get that damn thing out of my face!" Dean called as he pushed past the boys. Ed and Harry still managed to hold their cameras straight though. Enough to catch Mordechai as he ran to the door, chasing after Sam, Dean and Shia.

"Sweet Lord... of the Rings, run!" Harry yelled, him and Ed turning to flee, only to be stopped by the two sheriffs from before stood in their way. "But there's a... with an axe... where'd he go?" Harry stammered as he turned to see that Mordechai had vanished.

"Boys, come on," one of the sheriffs said, pushing both boys against the hood of the cop car.

In the car, the trio was driving back to the motel.

"What the hell was that?!" Dean asked.

"We don't know Dean. I mean...we really don't know," Sam said opening up a book him and Shia was reading earlier.

"I want to know what we're dealing with! Baby, why didn't your powers work on that thing?" Dean asked the young woman sitting in the backseat, both men waited for a reply...and when they didn't get one they turned to her. Dean was glancing between his girlfriend and the road. Sam was confused to see her "asleep" then her noticed her hand on her stomach, he slowly moved her hand and what he saw scared the hell out of him.

"Dean, she's bleeding, the damn thing must have stabbed her," Sam yelled.

"What?! What do we do?! Sam?!" Dean asked.

"Let's get her back to the motel, patch her up. She's still alive...just unconscious." Dean nodded at his brother, he couldn't focus properly. I mean he just found out that his girlfriend just got stabbed, she could lose her life right now.

Dean carried Shia in the motel room and placed her on the bed in front of him, Sam ran to his bag to get some supplies to help Dean clean his best friend up.

"Don't touch her, I can fix it," the two boys heard a voice say, they turned to see a young man walk to Shia's body and put his hand over her stabbed area, his hand glowed with a green light. They boys looked at Shia with wide eyes when she opened her eyes, she was full of life after the young man healed her. Dean jumped forward and pushed the guy back to the wall.

"Are you a faith healer? Are you playing God?!" Dean asked.

"Dean! Wait, no, Dean. He's my brother!" Shia told her boyfriend. Dean looked between Shia and the guy, they sort of looked alike.

"Oh, sorry. Hey, I'm Dean and this is my brother Sam," Dean said motioning his hands between him and his little brother.

"I'm Julius, your girlfriend's big brother," Julius said with a grin.

"Julius, what are you doing here?" Shia asked, she wasn't complaining or anything.

"I could feel that something was wrong, so I came running. Micheal called before I orbed here. He said you were in trouble, he saw it in a vision."

"Oh. Thanks for healing me then. Really, thank you," Shia said giving her brother an appreciated smile.

"No problem, really." Julius said as he walked towards the door. "I should get going, I still have some research to do about what you asked to search for last time I seen you." Shia gave Julius a nod as she smiled at him. Julius' figure morphed into small green lights (Orbs) as he vanished in thin air.

"Can you do that?" Dean asked turning to his girlfriend.

"I can a little, with enough practice I'll be a pro just like jules."

"He seems nice, why didn't we meet him earlier?" Sam asked sitting on the he called his for a night.

"I don't know, never really thought about it." Shia told the man with shaggy brown hair, Sam gave her a small smile.

"What did you ask him to search for you?" Dean asked.

"Uh, business. You should get some." Shia answered walking over to Dean to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before going to the bathroom. Sam chuckled to himself.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Dude, she makes you soft." Sam said.

"Shut up."

The next morning, Sam, Dean and Shia were now back in their motel room and back on the case, Sam and Shia sat at the table doing research, while Dean was still going over that symbol he couldn't get out of his head.

"What the hell is this symbol? It's buggin' the hell outta me. This whole damn job is buggin' me," Dean continued to ranmt and moan. "I thought the legend said that Mordechai only goes after chicks."

"He does," Shia answered, glad Dean was talking about anything but that God damned symbol!

"Right," Dean said. "Well, then that explains why he went after you and Sam, but why me?"

"Hilarious," Sam deadpanned at Dean.

"The legend also says he hung himself, but you see those slit wrists?" Shia said. "What's up with that? And the axe, too."

"I mean, ghosts are usually pretty strict, right?" Sam continued. "Following the same patterns over and over?"

"But his mood keeps changin'," Dean summed up.

"Exactly," Sam said.

"I'm telling you, the way the story goes..." Shia began as she logged onto the Hell Hounds site, something catching her eye. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Someone added a new post into the Hell Hounds' site. Listen to this," Shia began reading from the site. "They say Mordechai Murdoch was really a Satanist who chopped up his victims with an axe before slitting his own wrists. Now he's imprisoned in the house for eternity. Where the hell is this going?"

While Shia had been reading, Dean had still been concentrating on the symbol, and now, something caught his eye as well.

"I don't know, but I think I might have just figured out where it all started," Dean said, smirking at Sam and Shia as he jumped off the bed.

"Where are we going?" Shia asked.

"You'll see, babe. Now, come on." Dean replied grabbing his girlfriend's hand lacing their fingers.

At Hell Hounds HQ, known to others as the local trailer park, Ed and Harry were inside their own trailer, working on their website and discussing last night.

"No, no, no," Harry stood his ground. "No, forget it. Forget it, I'm not going back in there again."

"Harry, look at me. Right here, okay?" Ed said, not going on until Harry was indeed looking at him. "You are a ghost hunter, okay?"

"I know, but, Ed" Harry said. "I've never actually seen a real ghost before, like a real ghost, it's like an apparition!"

"This stuff right here, this is our ticket to the big time," Ed told him. "Fame, money, sex. With girls, okay? Be brave. Okay, WWBD. What would Buffy do? Huh?"

"What would Buffy do?" Harry repeated, for a moment strong again, but suddenly going back to cautious in a split second. "I don't know, but, Ed, she's stronger than me."

"It's okay," Ed said, that statement questioned as they both jumped at a loud knocking on their trailer door.

"Who is it?" Harry muttered to Ed.

"Come on out here, guys," Dean's voice echoed through to them. "We hear you in there."

"It's them," Ed grumbled, opening the door to Sam, Dean and Shia on the other side.

"Oh goodness, look at that," Shia said, peering inside the trailer. "Action figures in their original packaging. What a shocker."

"Guys, we need to talk," Sam said, getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, um, sorry, guys," Ed said. "We're, uh... we're a little bit busy right now."

"Okay, well, we'll make it quick," Shia said. "We need you to shut down your website."

"Man," Ed said with a laugh, turning to Harry. "You know, these guys get us busted last night, we spend the night in a holding cell."

"I had to pee in that cell urinal in front of people," Harry added. "And I get stage fright."

"Why should we trust you guys?" Ed asked.

"Look, guys, we all know what we saw last night," Sam said, trying to appeal to them. "What's in the house. But now, thanks to your website, there are thousands of people hearin' about Mordechai."

"That's right," Dean continued. "Which means people are gonna keep showin' up at the Hell House, runnin' into him in person... somebody could get hurt."

"Ed, maybe he's got a point," Harry said, showing who, out of the two, was the weaker of them.

"No, no," Ed said emphatically.

"Nope," Harry agreed, trying to act strong.

"Okay, we have an obligation to our fans, to the truth," Ed told them.

"Well, I have an obligation to kick both your little asses right now..." Dean threatened, taking a step closer to the pair.

"Dean, Dean, hey, hey," Shia said, pulling him back. "Forget it, all right? These guys... I could probably bitch-slap them both. I could probably even tell 'em that thing about Mordechai..." At this point, Ed and Harry became suddenly interested.

"But they're still not gonna help us," Shia finished. "So, let's just go."

"Yeah, you're right," Dean said, the trio walking away from them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ed said, following after them. "What did you say about...? Hold on a second here."

"Wait, wait," Harry called from beside him. "Yeah, what thing about Mordechai, you guys?"

"Don't tell 'em, babe," Dean told her.

"But if they agree to shut their website down..." Shia started.

"They're not gonna do it. You said so yourself," Sam backed Dean up.

"No, wait, wait. Don't listen to him, okay? We'll do it," Ed said, Sam, Dean and Shia now stopping and turning to them. "We'll do it."

"It's a secret, Shia," Sam warned her.

"Look, it is a very big deal, alright?" Shia told Ed and Harry. "And it wasn't easy to dig up. So, only if we have your word that you'll shut everything down."

"Totally," Ed agreed, thinking he had found the weaker link in Shia.

"Alright," Shia said, all three giving in as Dean handed them a piece of paper from his pocket. "It's a death certificate from the thirties. We got it at the library. Now, according to the coroner, the actual cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound."

"That's right," Dean continued. "He didn't hang or cut himself."

"He shot himself?" Harry questioned.

"Yup," Sam said. "With a .45 pistol. To this day, they say he's terrified of 'em."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact," Shia went on. "They say if you shoot him with a .45, loaded with these special wrought-iron rounds, you could kill the son of a bitch."

With this information, Ed and Harry smiled, making their way back to their trailer as quick as their feet would carry them. It was obvious they were rushing back to post their newfound information on their site, they weren't even being sly about it. Sam, Dean and Shia just smiled, each thinking the exact same thing.

'Worked like a charm!' Both of the brothers thought.

'Dumb asses' Shia thought with sly smirk on her face.

Choosing to relax until later tonight, Sam, Dean and Shia were sat eating at a booth at the local restaurant. Above them on the wall was your typical small town restaurant decorations, a wooden plague that held a model of a man holding a fish with a string underneath it. A string that if you pulled it, maniacal laughter emitted from the model. And a string Dean kept pulling, much to Sam's dislike, who kept pulling it to shut it up.

"If you pull that string one more time, I'm gonna kill you," Sam told him. Testing the waters, Dean pulled the string again, Sam there in an instant to stop it, only to have Dean start laughing in it's place. And there was no string for Sam to shut him up.

"Come on, man. You need more laughter in your life, you know, you're way too tense," Dean told him, but Sam said nothing, merely took a swig of his beer. "They post it yet?" Dean asked Shia, who turned the laptop she had been on towards Dean, him reading off the screen.

"We have learned from reputable sources that Mordechai Murdoch has a fatal fear of firearms," Dean read. "All right. How long do we wait?"

"Long enough for the new story to spread and the legend to change," Shia told him. "I figure by nightfall, iron rounds will work on the sucker." To this, Sam held up his beer bottle in a cheer, Dean doing the same.

"Sweet," Dean said, clinking his bottle against Sam's and taking a swig, Sam trying to hold back his laughter for a reason only now evident to him, though would soon become evident to Dean and Shia.

After taking his swig, Dean went to put his bottle back down, but found that he couldn't. The bottle wouldn't move from his hand... almost like it was glued there!

Seeing Dean's struggle, Sam gave in and began laughing, both Dean and Shia looking up at him.

"You didn't," Dean said. For an answer, Sam held up the little tube of superglue he had been holding underneath the table, Shia now laughing along with him as she saw the beer bottle on Dean's hand as well.

"Oh, I did," Sam chuckled, Dean just looking shocked. Suddenly in a better mood, Sam pulled the string on the laughing fisherman, he and Shia laughing along with it.

"I'm loving this," Shia said under her breath. Dean sent his girlfriend a death glare as she laughed with his little brother.

Back at the now dubbed 'Hell House' at night, two sheriffs were searching the forest for the origins of a sound that was not mean to be there.

"I'm tellin' ya, I heard something comin' from over there," one of the sheriff's said, the sound getting louder as they moved. "See? There it is again."

Turning the corner, the sheriff's now found the origin of the sound tacked to a nearby tree. The laughing fisherman from the restaurant.

"What is that?" the sheriff remarked. "What the...?"

While they were distracted outside, Sam, Dean and Shia had managed to make their way inside, hoping to finish the job tonight.

"I barely have any skin left on my palm," Dean moaned as they searched the rooms with flashlights and guns drawn.

"I'm not touchin' that line with a ten-foot pole," Sam said, glancing over at Dean's girlfriend, who just gave him a look while Dean shone his flashlight in Sam's face as they made their way to the door leading down in to the cellar.

"So, you think old Mordechai's home?" Shia asked the boys.

"I don't know," Sam answered.

"Me neither," a voice belonging to someone other than their group answered.

Sam, Dean and Shia quickly turned on alert, their guns now drawn at Ed and Harry, both screaming in fright.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey!" Ed said, hands in the air.

"What are you trying to do, get yourself killed?" Shia groaned at them as she and the boys lowered their guns.

"We're just tryin' to get a book and movie deal, okay?" Ed answered. Another noise drew all of their attentions, this one the sound of sharpening knives coming from behind the cellar door. "Oh, crap. Uh, guys, you wanna go open that door for us?"

"Why don't you?" Dean said, his attention trained on the cellar door.

Seconds later, that attention paid off as Mordechai burst through the cellar door, weapons at the ready. Sam, Dean and Shia were quicker, firing until he dissolved into a cloud of smoke. While Sam, Dean and Shia left the room to look around in case he showed up again, Ed and Harry were left dumbfounded where they were.

"Oh, he's gone. He's gone," Ed muttered.

"Did you get him?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yeah, they got him," was Ed's answer.

"No, on camera," Harry clarified. "Did you get him on camera?"

"Uh, I..." Ed stuttered, grabbing the camera he had to check. Next thing, the camera was destroyed as Mordechai appeared and swung an axe at it, disappearing again as Harry jumped back in fright and Sam, Dean and Shia came back in the room at the commotion.

"Hey. Didn't you guys post that BS story we gave you?" Shia asked them.

"Of course we did," Ed answered.

"Yeah, but then our server crashed," Harry clarified.

"So, it didn't take?" Dean yelled, Ed and Harry merely stuttering. "So, these guns don't work?"

"Yeah," Ed answered.

"Great," Shia groaned, turning to an annoyed looking Sam. "Sam, any ideas?"

"We are getting out of here. Come on, Ed," Harry said, dragging him away.

Reaching the front door, close to freedom, the two were suddenly hampered in their escapes by the ghost of Mordechai materialising in front of him. With a scream they ran back, again blocked as they came to a locked door. Now they had no escape. A locked door behind them and an axe wielding ghost in front of him.

"Mary and Joseph," Harry muttered under his breath, terrified.

"The power of Christ compels you," Ed attempted, getting louder. "The power of Christ compels you!"

"Hey!" Shia called out as she appeared round the corner, Mordechai turning to the newcomer. "You want a piece of me? Trust me, honey. I'll give you the whole damn pie. Come and get it, you ugly son of a bitch."

Mordechai did just that, taking a swing at Shia which she ducked to avoid, the axe hitting the wall. But this didn't stop him. He swung again, this time managing to pin Shia to the wall with the axe handle, choking her.

"Get out of here! Now!" Shia screamed at the two still stood terrified against the wall.

"Run!" Ed reiterated to Harry.

"Yeah, we're outta here," Harry agreed, running as fast and as far as they could out of the house.

In the main room, Sam and Dean were on plan B. Which meant dosing the whole house in lighter fluid while Shia continued to be choked in the other room to save the lives of two little nerds who annoyed the hell outta her.

"Guys!" Shia yelled as loud as she could over the axe handle against her throat, loud enough to bring Sam and Dean running.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, dragging Mordechai's attention to him even if he didn't let Shia drop. An aerosol can and a lighter as his weapon, Dean made his own personal flame thrower, Mordechai shocked back enough to allow Shia to drop to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Go, go, go! Come on," Dean said, helping Shia to her feet as the three of them began to run from the house. "Look, if Mordechai can't leave the house, and we can't kill him, we improvise."

The lighter still in his hand, Dean sparked it up and threw it on the floor, watching as the house, made of wood, instantly began to burn. And quick!

Getting out before the house crumbled around them, Sam, Dean and Shia ran and took cover behind the nearby trees, watching the flames rise. Mordechai was a step behind them, only he stopped as the doorway, watching from the inside as the house burnt around him.

"That's the solution?" Shia said. "Burn the whole damn place to the ground?"

"Well, no one will go in anymore," Dean justified his reasoning. "I mean, look, Mordechai can't haunt a house if there's no house to haunt. It's fast and dirty, but it works."

"But, what if the legend changes again, and Mordechai is allowed to leave the house?" Sam questioned.

"Well, then, we'll just have to come back," was Dean's simple answer. For a moment, the group was silent, simply watching the house. That was until Shia lashed out, hitting Dean hard across the shoulder.

"Owww!" Dean cried out, rubbing at the point she had hit. "What was that for?"

"Taking so long to come save me. You too," she said to a laughing Sam, hitting him in the same place too, immediately stopping his laughter. Again they were silent.

"Kind of makes you wonder," Sam said after a moment. "Of all the things we've hunted, how many existed just 'cause people believed in 'em?"

Sharing a thoughtful glance, Sam, Dean and Shia turned their attention back to the house, watching as the fire raged, taking the Hell House down with it once and for all.

Walking back to the impala, Dean stopped Shia to talk to her for a second.

"What's going on, Dean?" Shia asked. Dean didn't reply he just grabbed her and kissed her gently on the lips, pulling away he gave Shia a cocky smile.

"I almost lost you twice this week, I just want you to know that I lov.." Dean said but hesitated at the end.

"What, dean? Finish what you were saying,"

"I care about you. Okay? I just want you to be safe."

"Oh. Okay." Shia said, leaned in to give Dean one more kiss. "Thanks, Dean. It means a lot."

Next morning, Sam, Dean and Shia were waiting as Ed and Harry came out of their trailer, heading to their loaded up car.

"Gentlemen," Ed said, looking over at Shia as well. "And lady."

"Hey, guys," Sam said as they walked with them.

"Should we tell 'em?" Harry asked Ed.

"Oh, you might as well," Ed told him. "You know they're just gonna read about it in the trades."

"So," Harry began. "This morning, we got a phone call from a very important Hollywood producer."

"Oh, yeah? Wrong number?" Shia said with a smirk.

"No, smartass," Ed retorted. "He read all about the Hell House on our website and wants to option the motion picture rights, maybe even have us write it."

"And create the RPG," Harry added.

"The what?" Dean asked.

"Role-playing game," Harry told him.

"It's a little lingo for ya," Ed continued. "Any who, uh, excuse us, we're off to La-La Land."

"Well, congratulations, guys," Sam said. "That sounds really great."

"Yeah, that's awesome," Dean added.

"Best of luck to you guys," Shia contributed.

"Oh, yeah, luck," Ed laughed. "It's got nothin' to do with it. It's about talent, you know? Sheer, unabashed, talent. Later." Slipping into the car, Ed and Harry paused to turn round to Sam. Dean and Shia, shooting them the peace sign.

"See you around," Ed said as they drove away. Sam, Dean and Shia made their own way to their car, laughing.

"Wow," Dean remarked.

"I have a confession to make," Shia told them.

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"I was the one who called them and told them I was a producer," Shia said as they reached the car, the three of them laughing.

"Well, I'm the one who put the dead fish in their backseat," Dean said, the three again laughing for the poor little nerds on their way to an imaginary meeting smelling like a sewer.

"Truce?" Sam asked Dean, referring to their little prank war.

"Yeah, truce," he grinned, Sam sighing. "At least for the next hundred miles."

"Oh, thank God," Shia said with a smile, grabbing the boys attention.

"What?" they both asked.

"Oh, come on boys," Shia said. "The whole thing was getting annoying. I was getting sick of it. So childish."

"Says the woman who just told those boys that she was a producer," Dean said with a sly smirk.

"That was different. They deserved to be pranked." Shia said smiling to her self. Dean pulled her into him and kissed her hard but passionate. Sam cleared his throat to get the couple attention.

"Guys, can we go now?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, here, Sammy," Dean said throwing his brother the car keys. "You drive, I'll spend some time with my girl in the backseat."

"Oh, God." Sam groaned as he opened the drivers seat.


	15. Chapter 15: Dead's Man Blood (1x20)

Miles away from an interesting case, now in the blazing light of midday, Sam, Dean and Shia sit at a diner table, their half eaten meals ignored as they look for their next job, Dean and Shia on one side reading a newspaper together while Sam sits opposite, laptop in front of him.

"All right, dude," Dean said, finally folding the paper and putting it down on the table. "Not a decent lead in all of Nebraska. What do you got?"

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota," Sam told them eyes still on the computer screen. "Here, a woman in Iowa fell ten thousand feet from an airplane and survived."

"Dude, that sounds more like 'That's incredible' than, uh, 'Twilight Zone'," Shia said, and Sam had to agree.

"Hey, you know, we could, uh... we could just keep it in the east," Dean suggested with a somewhat ulterior motive. "New York, upstate. We could stop by and see Sarah again, huh? She's a cool chick, man... smokin'." Ending his sentence in a whistle caused Shia to glare at him, Dean gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Joking," he told her before turning back to Sam. "You two seemed pretty friendly. What do you say?"

"Yeah, maybe, someday," Sam said with a short laugh. "But in the meantime, we've got a lot of work to do, Dean, and you know that."

"Yeah, you're right," Dean said, rolling his eyes at his over eager brother. "What else you got?"

"Uh, Manning, Colorado," Sam continued. "A local man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home."

"Elkins?" Dean repeated. "I know that name."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Shia said.

"Me either," Sam said, continuing with the description while Dean flicked through their father's journal. "It sounds like the police don't know what to think. At first, they said it was some sort of bear attack, and now, they found signs of robbery."

"Mm-hmm," Dean said distractedly, still flicking through the journal pages until he found the one her was looking for, Shia watching him over his shoulder. "Here. Check it out."

Dean turned the journal so Sam could see the page he had stopped on. It was what looked like one of the few address pages that was actually used for its purpose, and the top phone number listed read D. Elkins.

"You think it's the same Elkins?" Sam questioned.

"It's a Colorado area code, that's for sure," Shia said, the three exchanging a look.

Looking into what they think just might be their kind of case, Sam, Dean and Shia break into Daniel Elkins abandoned house, searching for clues.

"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean muttered as he walked in, the mess being the first thing he noticed. Sam, on the other hand, had remained by the door, kneeling as he saw the trail of sale below his feet.

"Hey, there's salt over here, right inside the door," Sam yelled through the house to them.

"You mean, like, protection-against-demons salt, or, uh, 'Oops, I spilled the popcorn' salt?" Shia yelled back at him as she and Dean were going through Elkins stuff.

"It's clearly a ring. You think this guy, Elkins, was a player?" Sam asked them.

"Definitely," Dean and Shia's voice called back to him, the confident tone there enough to make Sam follow their voices, finding them stood by a table, leaning down over Elkins journal.

"That looks a hell of a lot like Dad's," Sam stated.

"Yeah, except this dates back to the sixties," Dean told him, moving the journal aside as he, Sam and Shia moved into the even messier office. This case might hold some stock after all.

"Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one," Sam said, looking around at the overturned chairs, broken furniture and open books strewn across the room.

"Looks like he put up a hell of a fight, too," Dean said as they continued searching the room. Dean was the one to find the box which had held the Colt, although now it was empty, bullets and all. Shia was the one who knelt to the floor, examining the deep gouges she found in the hardwood floor.

"You got somethin'?" Sam asked, looking up to find her knelt in that position.

"I don't know, just some scratches in the floor," Shia said.

"Death throes, maybe?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Shia said, although she didn't sound all that sure. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil from the mess of Elkins desk, she placed it on the floor, over the scratches, and used the pencil to take a rubbing. Peeling it off, she found just one of the many things this could have been.

"Or maybe a message," she told the boys, raising the paper to them. "Look familiar?"

Taking the paper from Shia, the boys found that rather than being death throes, the scratches across the floor had marked out a definite pattern. A combination containing three letter and six digits. Elkins last attempt to pass on a message to whoever came to investigate his mysterious desk. Something the police might look over, but a trained hunter would most definitely see.

"Three letters, six digits," Sam read. "The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

"That's just the way Dad does it," Dean added.

After following the code to the nearest post office, Sam, Dean and Shia now sat huddled in the car, shocked at just what they had found inside the locker. All it was was a simple envelope, letter tucked inside. It was what was written on the envelope that caused their shock, two letter that could only mean one thing.

J.W.

"J.W," Sam read off. "You think? John Winchester?"

"No, it's John Wesley. Of course it's John Winchester." Shia mumbled to herself.

"I don't know," Dean answered ignoring Shia. "Should we open it?"

Before Sam or Shia could give him an answer, a loud knock on Dean's side window made the three of them jump, all heads turning that way to see who was standing outside their car. And who they saw was exactly the person this envelope had been addressed to.

John Winchester, the boys father.

"Dad?" Dean muttered in shock, exchanging a confused look with Sam and Shia. John said nothing, he simply slid into the back seat of the car beside Shia. John gave Shia a small smile, she reached over and gave him a huge hug. The two brothers watched the scene in front of them. John hugged her tightly, he really missed that girl. She's like a daughter to him.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sam asked as Shia and John broke apart. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm okay," John finally answered them. "Look, I read the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could. I saw you three up at his place."

"Why didn't you come in, John?" Shia asked.

"You know why, because I had to make sure you weren't followed, by anyone, or anything," John told them. "Nice job of covering your tracks, by the way."

"Yeah, well, we learn from the best," Dean said with a slight smile.

"Wait," Sam said, pulling them back on topic. "So, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?"

"Yeah," John said, his voice taking on a note of sadness the three of them had never heard before. "He was... he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting."

"You never mentioned him to us," Sam stated.

"We had, uh... we had kind of a falling out," John admitted. "I hadn't seen him in years. I should look at that." Knowing what he meant, Dean passed the envelope into the back seat, John ripping it open and stretching out the letter to read it. Shia moved closer to him, trying to do the same over his shoulder, but John changed position, blocking Shia's sightline. She simply sighed and relaxed back into her seat, waiting until he was finished like Sam and Dean.

" 'If you're reading this, I'm already dead'," John began to read, going quiet after the first line and reading to himself. "That son of a bitch."

"What? What is it?" Shia asked.

"He had it the whole time," John said, ignoring Shia's question.

"John, what?" Shia tried to ask again.

"When you searched the place, did you see a gun?" John said, again ignoring Shia's question and starting one of his own. "An antique, a Colt revolver, did you see it?"

"Uh, there was an old case, but it was empty," Dean told him.

"They have it," John said, more to himself then anything.

"You mean, whatever killed Elkins?" Dean asked.

"We've got to pick up the trail," John said as he jumped out of the car, still not giving the trio any answers.

"Wait," Sam called out to him, making John stop and look through the car window at them. "You want us to come with you?"

"If Elkins was tellin' the truth, we've got to find this gun," John told them.

"The gun? Why?" Sam asked.

"Because it's important, that's why," John replied simply.

"John, we don't even know what these things are yet," Shia said, his purposefully unhelpful answers beginning to get to her.

"They were what Daniel Elkins killed best," John told them. "Vampires."

"Vampires?" Dean repeated. "I thought there was no such thing."

"You never even mentioned them, Dad," Sam said.

"I thought they were extinct. I thought Elkins and others had wiped 'em out. I was wrong," John said as he began telling them just what he knew. "Most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. But the bloodlust, that part's true. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late."

Tucked into the woods beside the highway, the small group of vampires that had attacked Elkins were proving John's point. They were all sitting or standing round a parked car, drinking and laughing. If you didn't know any better, you would just simply thing they were a group of humans on a rowdy night out.

Out on the highway, a car was driving their way, a mile or so away from passing by the woods. With a wicked smile on her face, the lead vampire, Kate, turned to one of her others.

"All yours, baby," she told the guy, watching him smile just as wickedly as he headed out onto the highway.

Out in that car, a young couple were driving down the highway, the young woman's eyes flicking back and to between her boyfriend in the seat beside her, chuckling softly.

"What?" the man asked her.

"Well, I guess you showed that guy," she said to him, her chuckle turning into an outright laugh.

"What guy?" he asked, confused.

"The guy who bet you you wouldn't buy that shirt," she told him.

"I love this shirt," he said to her, making his girlfriend laugh even more. Rolling her eyes away from him, the woman's attention was drawn to the road in front of them, finding what appeared to be a dead body lying in the middle of the highway.

"Look out!" the woman called to him, making him slam on his brakes. "What happened to him?"

"Call 911," he told her as he got out of his car, crouching down beside him as his girlfriend did as he asked. Kneeling, he now found himself looking into the eyes of the male vampire, eyes flashing devilishly as a set of fangs descended from his gums. An air splitting scream pierced the air as the vampire leapt forward, attaching himself to the guys neck as his fangs sank deep.

If you were to continuing following that highway, you would not too soon find yourself at one of the local motels, where in one room, Sam, Dean and Shia were sleeping peacefully. John, however, was still wide awake, listening to police talk over a walkie-talkie. And whatever he heard clearly got his attention as he jumped from the bed, heading towards SAM, Dean and Shia's sleeping forms.

"Sam, Dean, Shia, let's go," he said, shaking them awake. "Picked up a police call."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"A couple called 911," John told them. "They found a body in the street. Cops got there, everyone was missing. It's the vampires."

"How do you know?" Shia asked him.

"Just follow me, okay?" John said, leaving without giving them a clear answer as they were pretty much used to by now.

"Vampires," Dean muttered to himself as they all got ready to leave. "Gets funnier every time I hear it."

On that once deserted highway, now crowded with cop cars and ambulances, Sam, Dean and Shia stood in wait by the car while John stood a few feet away, talking with the cops.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him," Shia mumbled, half below her breath but enough for the brother's to hear her.

"Oh, don't tell me it's already starting," Dean mumbled back.

"What's starting?" Sam and Shia asked in unison, Dean not having chance to answer them as John walked back over their way.

"What do you got?" Dean asked his father.

"It was them, all right," John said. "Looks like they're headin' west. We're gonna have to double back to get around that detour."

"How the hell can you be so sure?" Shia had to ask.

"Babe..." Dean began to stop her.

"I just wanna know we're going in the right direction," Shia said.

"We are," John said simply.

"How do you know that, John?" Shia repeated.

"I found this," John said, pulling something from his pocket that Dean took from him.

"It's a vampire fang," Dean said, turning it over in his hand.

"No fangs, teeth," he told them. "The second set descends when they attack." With that, he turned his attention to Shia.

"Any more questions?" he asked her. Shia said nothing, she simply lowered her gaze and let him continue. "All right, let's get out of here, we're losin' daylight. Hey, Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were gonna ruin it."

Spiel over, John climbed inside his own truck, leaving Dean staring dumbfounded after him and Sam and Shia trying their best not to laugh. Dean turned to Shia.

"Why do you have to be a brat to my dad?" Dean asked his girlfriend.

"I love your Dad. Trust me, I do. But he can't just barge in and take control over everything. You and him are so much alike but he's just older.." Shia told Dean. Dean gave her a serious look, not wanting to start something he just simply walked pass her to get in the car.

"That was smart of him," Shia said under her breath. "Wait, Dean."

"Yeah?" Dean answered.

"I'm driving. Car keys, now." Dean frowned up, but he gave in a threw Shia his car keys. Shia eagerly hopped in the car and started to follow John.

Still on the road and Shia still behind the wheel, the trio were still driving, Dean having put down the research once it turned dark to now be on the phone with his father in the car in front of them.

"Yeah, Dad. All right, got it," Dean said as he hung up his cell. "Pull off at the next exit."

"Why?" Shia asked.

"Because Dad thinks we've got the vampires' trail," Dean told her.

"How?" Shia asked, getting more annoyed with each none answer she got.

"I don't know, he didn't say," Dean said simply. And Shia hit breaking point.

Stepping on the gas, Shia picked up the speed, shocking a compliant Sam and Dean as the car zipped past John's truck, cutting him off as she skidded to a halt in front of him, causing John to slam on his breaks. Before the Impala had even pulled to a proper stop, Shia had swung the car door open and jumped out.

"Oh, crap. Here we go," Dean said, following Shia out of the car.

"What?" Sam asked, hopping out last.

"You're about to see first hand just what I was talking about earlier. Shia!" Dean called, him and Sam following over to where Shia and John were steadily approaching each other.

"What the hell was that?" John asked as they got face to face.

"We need to talk," Shia told him.

"About what?" John asked.

"About everything," Shia replied.

"Where we going, John? What's the big deal about this gun?"

"Babe, come on," Dean said, speaking softly to calm his girlfriend, their roles suddenly reversed in their relationship for the first time. "We can Q and A after we kill all the vampires."

"Dean's right," John said, his tone not so calm. "We don't have time for this."

"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous to be together," Shia continued, ignoring the interruptions. Out of anger her eyes were now a blazing white/blue color. "Now, out of the blue, you need our help. Now, obviously, something big is goin' down, and we wanna know what!"

"Shia, calm down. Get back in the car," John told her.

"No," Shia stated simply.

"I said get back in the damn car," John repeated, taking a step up into Shia's face.

"Yeah. And I said no," Shia said, stepping right back up at him.

"All right, you made your point, baby," Dean said, now trying to almost physically pull Shia away.

"Look, we're all tired," Sam said, stepping in to take the calm approach this time. "We can talk about this later."

"Shia, I mean it, come on," Dean said, again taking the forceful approach as he pushed her back towards the car.

"This is just the reason I wanted to leave," Shia muttered under her breath as they made their way back.

"What'd you say?" John asked, making Shia turn to him again.

"You heard me," Shia said.

"Yeah. You were," John began to yell at her. "Sam left, and you were steps from doing the same, just when me and your boyfriend, we needed you. You wanted to turn your back on us!" On his last statement, John took the next step forward, grabbing Shia's jacket collar. Even now he was treating her like he owned. He wasn't grabbing her half as hard as he would one of his own boys, she could feel that, but the mere gesture alone was him trying to assert his dominance over her that he expected to have. Demi God or not, John wanted respect.

"He needed me?! Dean never needed me! He always needed you, his father! Damn it, John. This is one of the reasons why I always left to go spend more time with Bobby. So, Dean could more time with you." Shia said pouring her heart and soul out, the weirdest thing happened. As she was speaking her eyes went from blazing blue/white to a soft pink. John stared into her eyes and he could feel the hurt, the pain, the rejection. He knew there was more to her only being a Demi God. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Stop it, both of you!" Dean said, coming to his girlfriend's rescue, but there was no need. Before Dean could even touch either of them, Shia had done the work, lightly shoving John off and away from her.

"You're such a spoiled brat!" John told Shia.

"All right, stop it, stop it," Sam said, grabbing a hold of Shia.

"Stop it, that's enough!" Dean said, taking his father, him and his brother tearing the two apart. Pulling away from their respects holders, Shia and John stormed off in two different directions, each to the car they were riding in.

"Terrific," Dean mumbled, looking over at Sam whose eyes were flicking between Shia and John. "See what I mean?"

"Errr... yeah," Sam said, following his brother into the car. He hadn't ever known anyone but him go at his father like that, and it helped somewhat to know that out of all of this somewhat dysfunctional family the four of them seemed to have, he wasn't exactly the only odd one out.

Next morning, and the only missing vampire, Bo, pulled up outside the nest, stepping out of the car into the bright sunlight, shielding nothing but his eyes as he strolled across to the door Luther was holding open for him.

"I know what time it is," Bo said as he walked past the leader.

"Get in," Luther said simply, motioning him inside before doing a quick scan of the area and following him. In his scan, what he failed to notice was Sam, Dean, Shia and John lying hidden in the trees, watching them.

"Son of a bitch," Dean grumbled. "So, they're really not afraid of the sun?"

"No, direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn," John told them. "The only way to kill them is by beheading. And, yeah, they sleep during the day. It doesn't mean they won't wake up."

"So I guess walking right in's not our best option," Dean stated.

"Actually, that's the plan," John told him, stepping out of the trees and over to his truck. Sam, Dean and Shia followed, only they stopped near the Impala, opening up the false boot.

"Dad, I got an extra machete if you need one," Dean told him, pulling it out from his trunk. Turning however, he found it was needed, as John was now stood in front of much more sophisticated hidden weapons case with a lot more upgraded weapons.

"Think I'm okay. Thanks," John told them as he pulled out one of his own.

"Wow," Dean mumbled, going back to Sam and Shia as they went about getting their own weapons.

"So... you three really wanna know about this Colt?"

Not expecting a question like that from John, it took the three of them a moment to stop what they were doing and turn to him.

"Yeah," Shia said, the only one, after last night, willing to really say anything to him.

"It's just a story, a legend, really," John began to explain to them. "Well, I thought it was. Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter. Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun, a special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us, only on horseback. The story goes he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. Somehow, Daniel got his hands on it. They say... they say this gun can kill anything."

"Kill anything, like supernatural anything?" Dean asked.

"Like the demon," Sam said, realisation dawning.

"Yeah, the demon," John clarified for them. "Ever since I picked up its trail, I've been lookin' for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun... we may have it."

Making their way into the building with all the years of stealth training behind them, Sam, Dean and Shia crept in through the open window, gently closing it behind them. Inside they find a room strung with hammocks, each one holding a sleeping vampire. All that stealth used to gain access is quickly forgotten as Dean kicks over a bottle, jumping out of the way of the noise and directly into the hammock of the nearest sleeping vampire. Sam and Shia look up at him, waiting with baited breath for the attack, but the vampire continues to sleep.

Elsewhere in the building, John had made his way towards the private sleeping quarters that held Luther and Kate, dead to the world for the daylight hours. Not only that, but this room contain the Colt, slung over the bedpost on its holster. John creeps down the steps towards it, pausing only when Luther and Kate roll over in their sleep.

Stepping quietly once more, Sam, Dean and Shia's search of the room brings them to the young woman Kate captured, tied to the post and asleep. Sam and Shia kneel behind her to undo the ropes while another sound close by draws Dean's attention.

"There's more," he whispers, indicating to a cage full of captives. Leaving the first girl to Sam and Shia, Dean makes his way to the cage, grabbing a crowbar on the way to smash the lock, stopping on each swing to check around him for waking vampires.

As they work on untying her hands, the woman in front of Sam and Shia begins to wake, shifting slightly.

"Hey, hey, shhh," Sam whispers to her. "I'm here to help you."

This is clearly not what she wants to hear, as the scream that now escapes her lips is purely inhuman, the shriek of a newborn vampire. Sam and Shia back away quickly, Dean now with them, but it is too late. The vampires are already beginning to wake from their slumber, searching for the intruder.

The scream has also reached within the walls of the private room, waking Luther and Kate just as John's hand closes round the Colt. His chance gone, John can now only hope for escape, picking up the nearest bottle and hurling it at the window, the glass shattering and letting in the bright midday sunlight.

"You three, run!" John calls out, hoping the others can hear him. They are already way ahead in their thinking, however, racing towards the window with the vampires close at their heels. They reach the woods once they realise they have not been followed out into the day.

"Dad?" Dean screams back towards the building, all of them looking for the senior member of their group.

"Dad!" Sam repeats when they get no reply. Shia is about to add her voice to the mix when John appears in front of them slowing to a stop.

"They won't follow," John informs them as the three begin to run again. "They'll wait 'til tonight. Once a vampire gets your scent, it's for life."

"What the hell do we do now?" Shia asks.

"You got to find the nearest funeral home, that's what," John tells them, confusing the trio even more.

Back at the motel, it is now just John and Sam. Dean and Shia have left for the funeral home, on the errand for John. Still in case mode, John is deep in concentration on research in front of him while Sam pacing impatiently across the floor.

"It shouldn't be taking this long," Sam speaks up finally. "I should go help."

"Dean and Shia have got it," John simply says, not stopping his youngest sons impatient pacing. "So how long has it been for Dean and Shia. I mean...are they..uh..."

"Yeah. They've been together since we started looking for you. I guess..eight months?" Sam said.

"I saw that coming since the day they met. Me and Bobby took a bet on it. Looks like I won." John said chuckling to himself. "Sammy..."

"Yeah, dad?"

"I don't think I ever told you this, but..." John begins after a small pause. "The day you were born, you know what I did?"

"No," Sam said, confused but still slightly intrigued.

"I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you," John tells him with a small smile. "I did the same thing for your brother. It was a college fund. And every month, I'd put in another hundred dollars, until... Anyway, my point is, Sam, that... this is never the life that I wanted for you."

"Then why'd you get so mad when I left?" Sam asked the obvious question, moving to sit across from his father.

"You got to understand something. After your mother passed, all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you prepared, ready. So, somewhere along the line, I, uh... I stopped being your father. And I... I became your drill sergeant. So, when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was that you were gonna be alone, vulnerable. Sammy, it just... it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me... we're just different." Taking a breath, John is surprised when his speech earns himself a small laugh from Sam. "What?"

"We're not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess... we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone."

"I guess you're right, son."

"Hey, Dad? Whatever happened to that college fund?"

"I spent it on ammo."

They both laugh at this, at least for the moment going back to the father and son they were always meant to be, interrupted only as Dean and Shia walk through the door.

"Damn it!" Shia exclaims, shutting the door behind them. "Man, there's some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys."

"Did you get it?" John asks. In answer, Dean pulls a bag from his pocket, pulling from the bag a jar of blood which he hands to his father with a smile. "You know what to do."

With the sun long gone, darkness now blanketed across the sky, the Impala was parked at the side of the road, hood popped open and Shia buried beneath is, checking over a machine Dean had years ago taught her the exact workings off.

"I need to remind myself to kick John, Sam, and Dean asses for making me do this." Shia mumbled.

"Car trouble?" a voice behind her uttered, and Shia turned to see Bo stood behind her, smirking. "Let me give you a lift. I'll take you back to my place."

"Nah, I'll pass," Shia replied, smirking back. "I usually draw the line at necrophilia."

"Ooh," Bo said, her smirk turning to a full out grin as he backhanded Shia across the face, knocking her to her knees as Kate appears from behind him. Before Shia had a chance to stand up on her own, Bo grabs her by the cheeks, lifting her off the ground.

"Well, I don't normally get this friendly until the third date, but..." Shia continued to joke.

"You know, we could have some fun," Bo told her. "I always like to make new friends." With that, he pulled Shia closer to him, kissing her harshly on the lips.

"Sorry," Shia muttered once he pulled away. "Already taken. And I think you just pissed him off."

And from out of the woods, two arrows come shooting through the air, each one striking their intended victims square in the chest. Bo drops Shia with the shock of the blow, Sam, Dean and John appearing from out of the trees.

"Baby, you ok?" Dean asked, stepping up beside Shia.

"Of Course. Why wouldn't I be?" Shia answered, taking his offered hand and pulling herself up. Dean grabbed her and kissed her once.

"Just to let you know that you're still mine."

"Dean, how can I forget?" Shia said with a small smile.

"Damn it," Kate ground out, drawing their attentions to her. "Barely even stings."

"Give it time, sweetheart. That arrow's soaked in dead man's blood. It's like poison to you, isn't it?" John told her smugly, watching the smile fade from her lips as the poison took affect, knocking the vampire backwards into Dean's waiting arms. "Load her up. I'll take care of this one."

They do just that, Dean carrying Kate away while Sam and Shia follow close behind. Alone in the woods, just John and an immobilized Bo, John raises his machete high, moonlight glinting off the sharp blade as he swings it down, blood splattering across the forest as Bo's head rolls away from his body.

Deeper in the woods, in a natural clearing in the trees, Sam, Dean, Shia and John stand round an open fire, Kate tied to a tree beside them, unconscious, or at least in the stages of it.

"Toss this on the fire," John said, handing over another item to Dean.

"Saffron, skunks, cabbage, and trillium. It'll block our scent and hers until we're ready."

"Stuff stinks," Dean said, taking a step back as he dropped the last item onto the fire.

"Well, that's the idea," John told them. "Dust your clothes with the ashes, and you'll stand a chance of not being detected."

"You sure they'll come after her?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," John said. "Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But the blood sickness is gonna wear off soon. So you don't have a lot of time."

"Half-hour ought to do it," Sam said.

"And then I want you out of the area as fast as you can," John told them.

"But..." Shia began to argue.

"Dad, you can't take care of them all yourself," Dean calmly said to his father.

"I'll have her and the Colt," John reasoned.

"But after, we're gonna meet up, right? Use the guntogether, right?" Shia asked John, to which she got no answer. And that was all the answer she needed. "You're leaving again, aren't you? You still want to go after the demon alone? You know, I don't get you. You can't treat us like this."

"Like what?" John asked.

"Like children," Sam finished for Shia.

"I'm trying to keep you safe," John told them simply.

"Dad, all due respect, but that's a bunch of crap," Dean added to the argument, earning himself a look of shock from everyone conscious within the clearing.

"Excuse me?" John said, not expecting to hear that from his oldest son.

"You know what Sammy, Shia and I have been huntin'," Dean continued. "Hell, you sent us on a few huntin' trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

"Its not the same thing, Dean," John tried to argue.

"Then what is it?" Dean asked. "Why do you want us out of the big fight?"

"This demon? Its a bad son of a bitch," John said. "I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive."

"You mean you can't be as reckless," Dean clarified.

"Look..." John began solemnly. "I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother's death... it almost killed me. I can't watch you three die, too. I won't."

"What happens if you die? Dad, what happens if you die and we could have done somethin' about it? You know, I've been thinkin'... I think maybe Shia's right about this one. I think we should do this together," Dean told his father, earning a nod of agreement and encouragement from both Sam and Shia. "We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it."

"We're running out of time. You do your job, and you get out of the area. That's an order," John said, walking away.

Conversation: over.

Back at their hide-out, Luther stood with a group of vampires, watching as Hank, another of his group, pulled up their car in front of him.

"Is there any sign of those four?" Luther asked the second her stepped from the vehicle.

"No, somethin' else," Hank answered.

"What?" Luther asked.

"Luther, they cut off Bo's head," Hank told him.

"And Kate?" Luther asked immediately.

"I don't know. She wasn't there. What are we gonna do?" Hank asked, panic clear in his voice. In the distance there is the sound of a truck driving across the highway. An everyday sound that right now has Luther's undivided attention. "It's just a truck up on the highway."

"Kate," Luther said simply. "She's in that truck."

And she is, for the truck Luther had heard was John's, Kate barely conscious in the passenger seat beside him.

While Luther had pulled together a group of his best vampires, Hank had been left behind to keep guard unless any of the Winchesters decided to stop by for a visit.

Drink in hand, Hank cautiously looked round at a sound from the other room, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Turning to head back into the main room, Hank finds himself face to face with Dean and Shia, machete's raised.

"Boo," Dean deadpans, swiping the blade round and taking Hank's head clean off. With their only obstacle out of the way, Dean and Shia move to the back of the room and the cage where the other prisoners are being held. "I told you I'd come back," he said, smashing the lock.

With their job for the night done, Dean and Shia were back at the motel, waiting to hear from John. And neither was waiting patiently. Shia had been pacing the floor for so long, you could almost see the original color of the carpet. And Dean was stood stiffly by the wall, glancing up at the clock every two minutes.

"You know, maybe dad was right. Maybe it is better if we stay out of this," Dean said, finally breaking the silence in the room. And after it came a short, humorless laugh from Shia.

"Oh, well that didn't last too long, did it," she muttered.

"What?" Dean asked.

"This new argue back attitude of yours," Shia said, stopping her pacing right in front of Dean. "And to think I actually thought you might have changed after all these years."

"Dad knows what he's talking about, Shia," Dean said. "We're his kids and he's just looking out for him."

"No, you're his kids," Shia corrected him. "I'm not, Dean."

"Come on, you know he cares about you like he does me and Sam, you know he thinks of you as..."

"No, Dean, he doesn't. I'm just the girl that's sleeping with one of his sons. And that's fine with me, because I've never had to pander to him like you seem to think you have to. Dean... you know you don't have to. I thought you got that today... but I guess not."

"Shia," Dean began, stepping closer towards her. "I care about you, you know that. And that happens to mean wanting to keep you in one, safe piece. Which sometimes might mean listening to my dad."

"Dean, it's vampires! You said it yourself, we've dealt with worse. For God's sake, Dean, you just turn into the perfect little mindless soldier when your dad's around. He say's jump, you say how high!"

Her anger depleting slightly, Shia smirked as a thought occurred to her, slinking towards Dean who openly gulped as he watched her move, almost like a predator stalker it's prey. And Dean wasn't all that sure if he liked being prey right now.

"Do you wanna know what the first thing that made me fall in love with you was?

"What?"

"The wonderful little rebellious streak you have," Shia told him, her arms slinking round his neck as she stood directly in front of him now, his arms taking up position on her hips. "The one that makes you turn your nose up at authority. The one that suddenly disappears every time you're around your dad. I know you love him Dean, and we've been looking for him all this time... but there does come a time when little boys have to grow up and realize that their dads don't always make the right choices or say the right things."

"Yeah... but can that time be a while from now?" Dean joked with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood as always. But there was still a glint in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago, a glint that told Shia she might just be getting through to him.

Which was the only reason she gave in, laughing softly against Dean's lips as he leant down to kiss her.

Up on the highway, John continued his journey with Kate in the seat beside him slowly begin to come back to reality. But as he turned the next corner, his journey was brought abruptly to a halt as he was meet by a road block that consisted of Luther and three other vampires stood in front of their cars, causing him to slam on his brakes.

"Get out!" Luther shouted, John doing as he was asked. "Who are you?"

"The name's Winchester," John answered him.

"Where are your friends?" Luther asked him.

"Cleanin' out your nest," John answered simply.

"Where's Kate?" Luther asked.

"Come here, sweetheart," John said, pulling on a length of rope and dragging Kate from the truck, hands bound. Bringing her closer to Luther, John held a knife at the young woman's throat to keep the rest of the vampires at bay.

"Kate, you all right?" Luther asked her.

"Dead man's blood," Kate answered weakly.

"You son of a bitch," Luther growled at John.

"We want the Colt, Elkins' gun. Trade."

"Is that what this is all about? I mean, you can't shoot us all, right? We'll kill you."

"Oh, I don't need it for you. I'm savin' it for somethin' else. Put the Colt down, or she goes first."

"All right. Just don't hurt her," Luther said, taking out the Colt and placing it on the ground.

"Back up," John said, Luther taking a few steps back. "Further." He backs up further and John moves forward, kneeling down so Kate can pick up the gun.

"That's a nice move," Luther said with a smile. "You almost made it."

Suddenly, the equilibrium changed. Kate, her strength back, hit John with the gun, sending him into his truck and the gun flying across the ground. Luther joins her, hitting John so hard he careens back into the door of his truck, slumping to the ground like a dead weight.

Before the vampires have time to gloat over their win, an arrow flies from the cover of the woods, slicing through the back of a vampire. Turning at the sound, Luther watches as Sam, Dean and Shia rush out from the woods, taking out another vampires with an arrow as they run. Pissed and at breaking point, Luther storms forward, hitting the first enemy he comes to, Sam, and knocking him to the ground. Lifting him by the throat, Luther's attention is brought to Dean and Shia heading his way, weapons in hand.

"Don't! I'll break his neck. Put the blade down," Luther screams at them. The pair freeze, Shia's nudge and desperate look at a choking Sam making Dean drop his blade. "You people... why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so."

Sam still in hand, Luther turns to see John on his feet, Colt aimed high. Without a seconds pause, John squeezes the trigger, shooting Luther direct in the middle of his forehead. Weakened, Luther drops Sam, who stumbles back into Shia waiting hold, a trickle of blood running down his nose as he sinks to his knees.

"Luther!" Kate calls desperately, her and the other vampires only able to watch as a flash of bright white light streaks through Luther's body before her falls limp to the floor, dead. Overcome by anger, Kate makes forward towards John, only to be held back by another female vampire.

"Kate, don't!" she cries, pulling her back towards the cars. Sam, Dean, Shia and John watch as, throwing angry glares their way, the vampires finally retreat, tires kidding as they pull out.

Mission completed, Sam, Dean and Shia finish their day with packing, their duffels half full as John steps into the room.

"So, guys..." John begins, the other three stopping what they are doing to turn his way.

"Yes, sir?" Sam answers automatically.

"You ignored a direct order back there," John tells them.

"Yes, sir," Sam repeats.

"But we saved your ass," Shia finishes for him.

"You're right," John says simply.

"I am?" Shia said, completely shocked.

"It scares the hell out of me," John continues. "You three are all I've got. But I guess we are stronger as a family. So, we go after this damn thing... together."

"Yes, sir," Sam and Dean reply with a smile. John turns to look at Shia, the one who didn't answer, ready for some other kind of argument.

"Yes..." She begins, smiling cheekily as the last word now tumbles easily from her lips. "Sir."

"Did that sting your lips?" John asked chuckling a little.

"A little." Shia answered.

"Boys, give me a minute with Shia." John told the boys, Shia turned to them and nodded telling them it was okay to leave her alone. "I love you, kid."

"You do?" Shia asked, her voice was full of shock.

"Yes. Now, I'm sorry about the things I've said. You might be legally bobby's but you're still my little girl." John said pulling her into a tight embrace.

At the end of the day, Shia will always love John.


	16. Chapter 16: Salvation (1x21)

Shia sat on the motel bed while Sam and Dean stood. And all of them were staring at John, who was sitting at the table with a bunch of papers and the Colt sitting on the table. The walls were covered in papers. All of the papers either had something circled or highlighted. Weather reports were mixed in with various newspaper articles. "So, this is it. This is everything I know. Look, our whole lives we've been searching for this demon, right? And not a trace, just nothing, until about a year ago. For the first time, I picked up a trail," John says.

"That's when you took off," Dean comments.

John nods. "Yeah, that's right. The demon must have come out of hiding or hibernation."

"All right, so, what's this trail you found?"

"It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California - houses are burning down to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us."

"Families with infants," Sam asks.

"Yeah - the night of the kid's six-month birthday."

"I was six months old that night?"

"Exactly six months."

"So, basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason - the same way it came for me? So, Mom's death, Jessica - it's all cause of me?"

"We don't know that, Sam," Shia softly comments.

"Oh, really, cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure, Shia."

"What happened to them is not your fault. So, stop blaming yourself."

"Yeah, you're right, it's not my fault, but it's my problem!"

"No, it's not your problem, it's our problem," Dean counters.

"Okay. That's enough," John says, stopping the argument. He stands up and they're all silent.

"So, why is it doing it," Sam asks after a moment. "What does it want?"

"Look, I wish I had more answers. I do. I've always been one step one behind it. Look, I've never gotten there in time to save..." John trails off.

"All right, so, how do we find it before it hits again," Dean asks.

"There's signs. Look, it took me a while to see the pattern, but in the days before these fires, signs crop up in the area - cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. And then I went back and checked and-"

"These things happened in Lawrence."

"The week before your mother died," John replies and looks at Sam. "And in Palo Alto, before Jessica. And these things - they're starting again."

"Where," Shia asks.

"Salvation, Iowa," John answers. Shia looks between the three Winchesters, knowing what it meant. She may not have been a member of the Winchester family, but she was involved in the fight.

The Impala speeds down the road passing a sign that welcomed them to Salvation, Iowa. The black GMC truck in front of them pulls off to the side of the road and Dean does the same. They all step out. "Damn it," John lets out.

"What is it," Dean asks.

"Son of a bitch!" John takes a deep breath. "I just got a call from Caleb."

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Jim Murphy is dead."

"Pastor Jim," Sam asks and John nods. "How?"

"Throat was slashed - he bled out," John answers. "Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place."

"The demon," Dean questions and John nods. "Thedemon?"

"I don't know. Could be he just got careless, he slipped up. Maybe the demon knows we're getting close."

"What do you want to do?"

"Now we act like every second counts. There's two hospitals and a health center in this county. We split up, we cover more ground. I want records. I want a list of every infant that's gonna be six months old in the next week."

"John, that's tons of children," Shia counters, speaking up for the first time. "How are we going to know which one is the right one?"

"We'll check 'em all, that's how," John snaps. "You got any better ideas?"

Shia shakes her head. "No."

They all turn to get back into the respective vehicles. Dean notices John pause by the door to his truck. "Dad," Dean asks.

John turns around. He shakes his head. "Yeah, it's Jim. You know, I can't..." He takes a deep breath and lets it out. A determined look appears on his face. "This ends. Now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes."

Sam smiles as the receptionist puts down another stack of files on the table. Shia sat across from him, going through a different stack. Instead of all of them each taking a different hospital, Shia had teamed up with him while John and Dean went their separate ways. "Does it make you feel better," Shia asks.

"What," Sam asks, confused.

Shia smiles. "Knowing you're not the only person who pisses off your dad by questioning orders." Sam chuckles and grabs a file off the top. "We'll be done before them though."

"Yeah. So, what are you and Dean fighting about this week?" A confused look appears on her face. "Shia, you and Dean are either fighting or flirting. This week you're fighting."

"And it'll be like that even when we're married and have kids."

Sam glances at her. "You want to get married to Dean?"

"Of course. I didn't think it was that big of a shock-"

"It's not that, Shia. It's clear that you love Dean. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in this family that wants a normal life."

"Well, technically-"

"You're family, Shia. No matter what anyone says, you're family," Sam tells her. Shia smiles and they continue looking through the files. A couple of hours later, they walk out of the hospital with a list of every infant ready to turn six months old in the next couple of weeks.

They walk along the street. Sam rubs his head as sharp pains erupt. "Sam," Shia asks, placing a hand on his arm. He closes his eyes and grips her shoulder. Images flash through his mind, then suddenly stop. He opens his eyes and sees a concerned look on Shia's face. "Sam, you okay?"

Sam nods. "Yeah," he pants. "Where's the map?"

Sam could feel the concerned glances from Shia as they walk down the street. Houses were on one side with a railroad behind it. A park was on the other side. He gives her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Shia."

"I can't help it that I worry about you, Sam. You're my best friend," Shia replies, looping her arm around his. He stops walking when they pass a house. Her gaze goes between him and the house. "Is this the house you saw?"

"Yeah." He notices a woman pushing stroller and carrying an umbrella. Sam pulls away from Shia and walks over to the woman. "Hi," he greets. The woman smiles as she struggles to close the umbrella. He grabs the stroller as Shia reaches them. "Here, let me hold that."

"Thanks," the woman replies.

Shia smiles at the baby. "She's adorable," she says. "Is she yours?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, wow," Sam says. "I'm sorry, we're rude. I'm Sam and this is my brother's wife, Shia. We just moved in up the block."

"Oh, hey. I'm Monica," she says, shaking their hands. "This is Rosie."

"Rosie," Shia asks and Monica nods. "Hi, Rosie."

"So, welcome to the neighborhood. You and your husband planning on having a family?"

"Oh, no. We don't want children. We're always too busy." Shia said. Sam looked at her, he noticed that her words were saying 'no' but her face was saying 'yes, I would love children'. Sam smiled softly see in his best friend adore the small child in front of them. Shia deserves happiness, she really do.

"There's nothing wrong with not having children, they can be a bit of a handful. I hope everything works out for the best between you and your husband." Monica said to Shia, she loved how good Shia was with little Rosie. She thought that Shia was sweet, and gentle.

"Thanks. Your baby really is adorable and so sweet."

"I know. I mean, she never cries. She just stares at everybody. Sometimes she looks at you, and I swear, it's like she's reading your mind."

"What about you, Monica," Sam asks. "Have you lived here long?"

"My husband and I, we bought our place just before Rosie was born."

"How old is Rosie?"

"She's six months today," Monica answers, stunning them. "She's big, right? Growing like a weed."

"Yeah. Monica." Monica looks at Sam, waiting. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah," Monica replies. "You too. We'll see you around."

"Yeah. Definitely."

"It was nice to meet you," Shia adds, before her and Sam walk down the street. He glances back to see a car pull into the driveway of Monica's house. He turns back around as another vision hits him. Images of Monica in a nursery, of a figure standing next to crib, then Monica pinned against the wall and moving up the ceiling, flood his mind. The vision ends and Shia is back in front of him, with a fearful look on her face.

"We have to protect them." Shia said sternly.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go." Sam said walking off.

Shia sits down at the table with a bottle of water and some aspirin for Sam. After his last vision, they had made their way to motel, meeting up with John and Dean in the process. Dean and John were sitting on the beds, listening to Sam explain his vision. "A vision," John asks after Sam finishes.

"Yes," Sam replies. "I saw the demon burning a woman on the ceiling."

"And you think it's gonna happen to this woman you met because-"

"Because these things happen exactly the way I see them."

"They were nightmares at first," Shia says. "Then he started having them while he was awake."

"Yeah," Sam agrees. "It's like the closer I get to anything involving the demon, the stronger the visions get."

"All right, when were you gonna tell me about this," John demands.

"We didn't know what it mean," Dean answers.

"All right, something like this starts happening to your brother, you pick up the phone and you call me."

"Call you? Are you kidding me? Dad, I called you from Lawrence, all right? Sam and Shia called you when I was dying. Getting you on the phone - I've got a better chance of winning the lottery."

John stares at him for a moment. "You're right. Although I'm not real crazy about this new tone of yours, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Look, guys," Sam begins. "Visions or no visions, the fact is we know the demon is coming tonight. And this family's gonna go through the same hell that we went through."

"No, they're not. No one is, ever again."

Sam's phone rings. Shia frowns as he picks it up off he table. "Hello? Who is this," he asks. A shocked look appears on his face. "Meg. Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window. Just your feelings? That was a seven story drop." Sam's gaze darts over to John. "My dad - I don't know where my dad is."

John stands up and walks over. Sam reluctantly hands him the phone. "This is John." A sad look crosses his face. "I'm here. Caleb? Caleb." Dean and Sam exchange worried looks. "You listen to me. He's got nothing to do with anything. You let him go. I don't know what you're talking about. Caleb? Caleb!" They watch as an angry look appears on John's face. "I'm gonna kill you, you know that?" He says something they don't understand. "I said okay. I'll bring you the Colt. It's gonna take about a day's drive to get there. That's impossible. I can't get there in time and I can't just carry gun on a plane."

John hangs up, then drops the phone on the table. "So, you think Meg is a demon," Sam asks.

"Either that or she's possessed by one. It doesn't really matter."

"What do we do," Dean asks, standing up.

"I'm going to Lincoln."

"What?"

"John, that is too dangerous." Shia spoke up.

"It doesn't seem like I have a choice. If I don't go, a lot of people die. Our friends die." John said.

"Dad, the demon is coming tonight for Monica and her family. That gun is all we've got. You can't just hand it over," Sam counters.

"Who said anything about handing it over? Look, besides us and a couple vampires, no one's really seen the gun. No one knows what it looks like."

"So, you're gonna buy a fake at a pawn shop-" Shia starts.

"Antique store."

Shia rolls her eyes. "No. I don't like this idea. I'll go."

"What?!" Dean says turning to look at his girlfriend.

"I'm a Demi God, she can't kill me. I'm mean 'too much' to the yellow eyed demon, apparently."

"And how the hell would you know that?" John spoke up all of the sudden getting a little upset that demon is taking an interest in a young woman he likes to call his daughter.

"He came to in a dream, saying that because of the fact that I'm alive...something will come soon. I'm guessing the fate of mankind will be decided."

"Babe, this is big. Why didn't you mention this before?!" Dean asked, in a way he was hurt that the woman he's been dating for over nine months, and been knowing for over ten years would hide something like that from him.

"Dean, I didn't say anything because you were stressed about finding John...worrying about me would make you crazy..." Shia tried to explain. Dean cut her explanation short.

"That doesn't mean you can just hide things from me." Dean said sternly.

"Like you don't hide things from me." Shia spoke softly. Dean looked at both John and Sam, he really didn't want to fight in front of his dad and brother. Hell, he didn't want to fight period.

"Look, Shia," John began to say looking into her eyes. "They want me. I will go, and everything will be okay. Trust me, nothing bad will happen. I wouldn't allow my plans to go sour. Now, would I?"

"No, sir. Just...be careful or I'll pop up out of nowhere and save your ass." Shia said with a small smirk playing at her lips. John kissed her softly of her forehead and gave her a small smile.

"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked.

"Antique Store." John said.

Again, Shia rolled her eyes. "Fine. You're gonna buy a fake at an antique store and hope that she doesn't know the difference?" Shia says.

"Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"Yeah, but for how long," Dean asks. "What happens when she figures it out?"

"I just - I just need to buy a few hours, that's all."

"You want us to do it?" Sam states. John remains quiet. "You want us to stay here and kill this demon by ourselves?"

"No, Sam. I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to go to school. I want Dean to have a home. I want Shia to have the life she deserves. I want the both of my boys to go off and get married and have children." John turns away from them. "I want Mary alive." He shakes his head and looks at them. "I just - I just want this to be over."

Sam looks over Shia's shoulder as she works on a Sudoku puzzle she had gotten out of a local newspaper. They were waiting on an abandoned road with John for Dean to come back after picking up an antique gun. John had busied himself with organizing weapons in the back of his truck. "You know that you can put a five there," he says, pointing to an empty square.

"I didn't ask for you help, college boy," Shia says, pushing his hand away.

Sam laughs. "Is that supposed to be an insult? Cause you know that Stanford is one of the top schools in the country."

"Yeah, but it's no Yale, so ha! Remember when I gotten a letter from Yale?" Shia asked giving Sam a playful smirk.

"Show off." Sam mumbled to which only made Shia giggle.

A loud rumble causes them to turn and they see the Impala pull to a stop. Dean climbs out, carrying a paper bag. "Did you get it," John asks, slamming the truck gate closed.

Dean takes an antique gun out of the bag and hands it to John. "You know this is a trap, don't you," he asks. "That's why Meg wants you to come alone."

"I can handle her. I got a whole arsenal loaded - holy water, Mandalic amulets-"

"Dad..."

"What?"

"Promise me something."

"What's that?"

"This thing goes south, just get the hell out. Don't get yourself killed, all right? You're no good to us dead."

"Same goes for you," John replies after a moment. "All right, listen to me." He takes the Colt out of his jacket. "They made the bullets special for this Colt. There's only four of 'em left. Without 'em, this gun is useless. You make every shot count."

"Yes, sir," Sam tells him.

"I've been waiting a long time for this fight. Now it's here and I'm not gonna be in it. It's up to you boys now. It's your fight. You finish this. You finish what I started. You understand?"

They nod. John hands Dean the Colt. "We'll see you soon, Dad."

"I'll see you later," John replies, then climbs into his truck but only gets stopped by Shia, she sends him a pleaded look. Going alone sounded to much of a trap, she really hated this idea.

"John..." Shia said one last time. John softly smiled at her and gave her a small kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, baby girl. Make sure those boys don't get themselves killed."

"I love you too. Please, be careful." Shia whispered as she gave John a kiss on his cheek.

"Bye, baby girl." John says as he drives off.

"Bye," Shia says softly.

Shia was stretched out in the backseat of the Impala. Dean and Sam were sitting in the front seat and they were all watching Monica's house for any signs that the demon would appear. She yawns as she pulls her jacket close. "Maybe we can tell them there's a gas leak," Sam comments. "Might get 'em out of the house for a few hours."

"Yeah, and how many times has that actually worked for us," Dean counters.

"Could always tell them the truth." Shia snorts and Sam nods. "I know. I know, I know. I just - with what's coming for these people-"

"Sam, we've only got one move and you know it, alright? We've got to wait for that demon to show itself and then we get it before it gets them."

"I wonder how Dad's doing."

"I'd feel a lot better if we were there backing him up."

"I'd feel a lot better if he were here backing us up." Silence settles back over them, then Sam realizes something. "This is weird."

"What?"

"After all these years, we're finally here. It doesn't seem real."

"We just got to keep our heads and do our job like always."

"Yeah, but this isn't like always."

"True."

"Dean, Shia, uh, I wanna thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. You guys have always had my back, you know? Even when I couldn't count on anyone, I could always count on you guys. And now, I don't know, I just wanted to let you know - just in case."

Shia sits up and slaps the back of his head. "Shut up. You're not gonna say that speech, Sam. Cause the only thing that's dying tonight is that damn demon. Okay?" Sam stares at her for a moment, then nods. She settles back into the seat.

A couple of hours later, Dean hangs up his phone and shoves it into his pocket. "Dad's not answering," Dean says.

"Maybe Meg was late," Sam replies. "Maybe cell reception's bad."

"Yeah, well..." Dean turns his gaze back to the house. Static comes on the radio.

Shia leans forward. "What the hell? Did you guys notice that," she asks, looking between them. Dean tries changing the station but the static continues. Sam notices lights inside the house flickering and they exchange a look.

"It's coming," Sam states and they all climb out of the Impala. Shia looks around the street as Dean picks the lock. He opens the door and they enter the house.

Suddenly a man walks in carrying a baseball bat. He swings the bat, but Dean grabs him and pins him against the wall. "Get out of my house," the man shouts. "Get out of my house!"

"Mr. Holt, please," Sam quietly tells him.

"Be quiet and listen to me," Dean says. "We're trying to help you, okay?"

"Charlie," Monica calls. Shia looks to see her standing at the top of the stairs. "Is everything okay down there?"

"Monica, get the baby," Charlie shouts.

"No, don't go in the nursery," Sam yells as Monica disappears. He runs after her with Shia on his heels. They enter the nursery. Monica was against the wall, her feet weren't touching the floor. A dark figure stood next to the crib. The figure had strange colored eyes. Sam fires the Colt, but the figure disappears in a cloud of black smoke. Monica falls to the floor and Shia runs over to help her up. "Where the hell did it go?"

Shia starts to pull Monica out of the room as Dean rushes in. "My baby," Monica screams.

"My boyfriend's got her," Shia replies, forcing the woman out of the room. Sam quickly helps her and they run out of the house as the windows in the nursery explode. Dean is right behind them, carrying a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.

"You get away from my family," Charlie shouts.

"Charlie, don't," Monica replies. "They saved us." Dean hands Rosie to Monica. "They saved us. Thank you."

Shia smiles at them. "It's still in there," Sam growls, starting towards the door. She looks up and sees a figure standing in the window.

"Sam, no," Dean says, pushing him away from the door.

"Dean, let me go! It's still in there!"

"Burning to the ground - it's suicide!"

"I don't care!"

"I do!"

"Guys! We should get going. Now! Come on," Shia said pulling both brothers towards the impala. As they drove off, Azazel was watching them with a wicked smile on his face.

Shia sighs as she sits down on the motel bed. Sam was sitting on the other bed. They had left Monica and Charlie's house before the police had gotten there. Dean was pacing around the room, trying to call John. "Come on, Dad. Answer your phone, damn it," he says, then hangs up. "Something's wrong." Shia glances at Sam, but he doesn't say anything. She was worried about him. He had been silent during the drive back to the motel. "You hear me? Something's happened."

"If you had just let me go in there, I could have ended all this," Sam angrily says.

"Sam," Shia softly says. "If you had done that then you've ended up killing yourself."

"You don't know that."

"So, what, you're just willing to sacrifice yourself, is that it," Dean coldly asks.

Sam stares up, glaring at his brother. "Yeah. Yeah, you're damn right I am."

"Yeah, well, that's not gonna happen - not as long as I'm around."

"What the hell are you talking about, Dean? We've been searching for this demon our whole lives. It's the only thing we've ever cared about."

"Sam, I wanna waste it. I do, okay? But it's not worth dying over."

"What?"

"I mean it. If hunting this demon means you getting yourself killed, then I hope we never find the damn thing."

"That thing killed Jess. That thing killed Mom."

"You said yourself once that no matter what we do, they're gone. And they're never coming back."

The second Sam slams Dean against the wall, Shia stands up. Thing were tense enough between them, but she didn't want them to start physically hurting each other. "Sam, let him go," she says.

"Don't you say that," Sam tells him, ignoring Shia all together. "Don't you - not after all this, don't you say that!"

"Sammy, look," Dean starts. The emotions he always kept buried were right under the surface. "The four of us - that's all we have. And that's all I have. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together, man." Sam lets go of him and steps back. "Without you and Dad and Shia..."

Sam walks away from them. He takes a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He knew Dean was right about that. Shia gives Dean a comforting smile, then walks back over to the beds. "Dad," Sam says. "He should have called by now. Try him again."

Dean grabs his cell off the table and calls John once again. An angry look appears on his face and he looks at them. "Where is he?"


	17. Chapter 17: Devil's Trap (1x22)

Dean Winchester was pissed. He had been since his father's phone had been answered and it wasn't his father. But hearing Meg tell him that they would never see John again had shocked him. Sam and Shia were staring at with anxious looks on their faces; waiting for him to tell them what was going on. "They've got Dad," he says, hanging up his phone.

"Meg," Sam asks and Dean nods. "What'd she say?"

"I just told you, Sammy." Dean walks away from them, wiping his face. The last thing he wanted was for either of them to see him with tears in his eyes. He takes a deep breath. "Okay. Okay."

The Colt was sitting on the table and Dean grabs, shoving it in the back of his jeans. Shia starts packing up her duffel bag as he does the same. She always knew what he was thinking. "What are you doing, Dean," Sam asks.

"We gotta go."

"Why?"

"Because the demon knows we're in Salvation, alright? It knows we've got the Colt, it's got Dad, it's probably coming for us next."

"Good. We've still got three bullets left and a Demi God with us. Let it come."

"Sam," Shia disbelievingly begins. "We don't know how many demons are gonna come. And we're nowhere near ready, and my powers has been unstable for the past week. So, we're leaving. Now."

Shia stifles a yawn as she sits down on the couch next to Dean. She kicks off her flip flops and slides her feet under Dean's leg. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before as Dean and Sam spent half the night before arguing. The house they were currently in was a faded sky blue, while the yard was littered with junk cars and other rusted car parts. A black and tan coonhound was lying on the hood of a dirty blue pickup truck. The house was owned by a man in his late forties to early fifties, who wore an old trucker hat, and had a scruffy beard, this man has been known as Shia's dad for years now.

Bobby Singer was hunter who lived just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His living room served as a library of sorts. Books were stacked all around the room. A large desk was covered in papers and more books. Sam was sitting behind the desk, looking through one of the books. Bobby walks in and hands Dean a flask. "Here ya go."

"Daddy.." Shia whined trying to get Bobby's attention. He turned to her with a small smile.

"Don't you start your whining." Bobby said to his daughter.

"What is this, Bobby," Dean asks his girlfriend's father "Holy water?"

"That one is." Bobby holds up another flask. "This is whiskey." He takes a swig, then hands it to Dean. Dean takes a swig and holds it out to Shia, who shakes her head in response.

"Bobby, thanks. Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if we should come."

"Nonsense. Your daddy needs help."

"Except the last time they were here, dad, you threaten to shoot John with buckshot," Shia amusedly comments. "You had the shotgun cocked and everything."

Bobby shrugs. "Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people."

"Yeah, I guess he does," Dean reluctantly agrees.

"None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get him back."

"Bobby, this book," Sam begins. Shia doesn't move as Bobby and Dean walk over to him. "I've never seen anything like it."

"The Key of Solomon? It's the real deal, alright."

"And these protective circles - they really work?"

"Hell yeah. You get a demon in one, they're trapped - powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

Sam laughs. "The man knows his stuff," Dean tells him.

"My dad's a smart man." Shia said grinning to herself.

"I'll tell you something else too - this is some serious crap you three stepped in."

"Wait. What do you mean," Shia asks, sitting up.

"Normal year, I hear about, say three demonic possessions, maybe four, tops." Bobby told them

"Okay, dad. And..."

"This year, I've heard of twenty-seven so far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us - a lot more."

"Do you know why," Sam asks.

"No, but I know it's something big. A storm's coming. And you three, John - you are smack in the middle of it." Suddenly, a dog starts barking and Bobby walks over to the window. "Risky, what is it?" The dog stops barking. "Something's wrong."

The door bursts open and Shia stands up as Meg walks in. "No more crap, okay?" Dean starts walking towards her, but is thrown into a wall. Meg moves towards Sam and Bobby, who back up. Shia moves around the couch, towards the desk. "I want the Colt, Sam - the real Colt. Right now."

"We don't have it on us," Sam replies. "We buried it."

"Didn't I say, 'No more crap'? I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I've got to tell you, I'm a underwhelmed. First, Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun and then he leaves the real gun with you two chuckleheads. Lackluster, men. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

"Actually, we were counting on it," Dean says from behind Meg. Meg turns around and he looks up at the ceiling. On the faded yellow ceiling was a intricate protective circle. "Gotcha."

Shia pours salt on the window sill in Bobby's kitchen. It was small. A bank of phones hung on the wall with range of labels on them. Sam and Dean were dealing with Meg while she and Bobby checked salt lines. From where she was standing, she could see that the yard was filled cars. Memories of her first car came floating in her mind, she couldn't help but grin. Shia walked of the kitchen. She finds Dean and Sam standing with Bobby near the door way. "All the kitchen windows are salted."

Dean nods and walks over to where Meg was tied to a chair in the middle of the circle. "Where's our father, Meg?"

Meg smirks at him. "You didn't ask very nice."

"Where's our father, bitch?"

"Jeez, you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, I forgot. You don't."

Anger rolls off of Dean. He leans in close to her. "Hey, you think this is a fucking game? Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"He died screaming. I killed him myself." Dean steps back for second, then backhands her. The smirk on Meg's face grows. "That's kind of a turn on - you hitting a girl. Do you hit your Demi God of a girlfriend like that?"

"You're no girl."

"Dean," Bobby sternly says.

Dean reluctantly walks back over to them. "You okay," Sam asks.

"She's lying, he's not dead," Dean angrily answers.

"Dean, you've got to be careful with her," Bobby tells him. "Don't hurt her."

"Why?"

"Because she really is a girl. That's why."

Realization dawns on Shia. She glances at Meg. "She's possessed," she asks, turning back to Bobby. She had never seen someone possessed, but had been told a couple of signs by Bobby.

"That's a human possessed by a demon," Bobby replies.

"You're trying to tell me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there," Dean asks and Bobby nods. "That's actually good news."

They watch as Dean walks away. Sam turns to Shia. "Why didn't you say something earlier, Shia?"

"Because I've never seen someone actually possessed by a demon before, Sam, Only heard stories" Shia explains as Dean walks back over carrying John's journal.

It was open to certain page. He hands it to Sam. "You're gonna read," Dean orders, then enters the living room with Sam behind him.

"Are you gonna read me a story," Meg amusedly asks.

"Something like that. Hit it, Sam."

Sam reads the Latin written on the page. "An exorcism? Are you serious?"

"Oh, we're going for it, baby - head-spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards."

Meg winces and lets out a moan of pain causing Sam to stop. "I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna rip the bones from your body."

"No, you're gonna burn in Hell - unless you tell us where our dad is." Meg just glares at him. "Well, at least you'll get a nice tan." He nods at Sam, who continues reading.

Shia walks out of the room when Meg screams. An overwhelming feeling of guilt had over taken her. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, willing away the tears. Footsteps appear behind her. She wipes away the tears and turns around, expecting Sam or Dean. "Dad, that girl in there is gonna die. She got thrown out of a seven story building, so when that demon is gone...that poor girl has gone threw at least another month of being possessed and I didn't notice." Shia takes another deep breath, hoping to hold back more tears.

Bobby nods. He could deal with monsters, but crying women were a different thing. "Ain't your fault, baby," he tells her before walking out of the kitchen. Shia grabs a paper towel and her gaze lands on a picture of her on the refrigerator when she was sixteen at her first high school dance.

-Flashback begins-

"You look beautiful, you better watch your date. I don't trust that boy." Bobby said as he takes out his camera and snaps a picture of his daughter.

"Dad, you don't trust any boy I go out with," Shia says to Bobby walking over to give him a small kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine, daddy. Don't worry so much. Okay?"

"I'll try not to worry, but there's something about that kid. Something ain't right." The conversation ended when they both heard a knock on the door. Shia walked over to open the door, she opens the door to a tall pale guy with jet back hair and beautiful blue eyes.

"Danny! I'm glad you made it," Shia said hugging him tightly.

"Of course I came. You're my date." Danny says with a smile. "Hello Mr. Bobby." Bobby gave him a nod, Danny can tell that Bobby hates him. Maybe if he wasn't trying to get into his daughter's pants...he'll like him.

"Okay, ready to go?" Shia asked grabbing the purse on the table beside them.

"Uh, yeah, let's go." Danny said, Shia ran out of the door to hop in his car. Danny turned to Bobby before leaving. "Don't worry, sir. She's in good hands."

"Just keep your hands to yourself, you hear me?" Bobby said with his voice deep and rough. Danny nodded and walked out the door.

-End of Flashback-

A smile crept on her face as she thought about the moments from her first dance. Bobby being overprotective was always funny to her.

"Shia." She wipes the tears from her face before turning around. Sam was standing in the door way, with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shia replies, tossing the paper towel in the trash can.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Sam nods, unconvinced. "We're leaving." She starts to walk out of the kitchen, but he pulls her into a hug. He holds her for a moment, then lets go and together, they leave out of the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." Shia told her boyfriend, Dean looked at Sam then back at Bobby. "What?"

"You didn't tell her Sam?" Dean asked his little brother. Sam shrugged.

"Hey, she's your girlfriend. You tell her."

"Tell me what?" Shia asked getting annoyed very quickly. "What the hell is going on?"

"Can we talk in private? Please?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, sure, follow me to my room." They both walk upstairs to go into a room with a light blue wall and a lime green bed. Dean realized how similar Shia was to Bobby. She has books everywhere, the room was somewhat messy. Her bed was sheets were unkempt and her pillows were all over the bed. "Now, tell me. Dean, what's going on?"

"I want you to stay here." Dean tells his girlfriend.

"Stay here?! What?! Why?!" Shia yelled, Dean jumped a little. He wasn't scared, it's just her voice went to volume ten to volume fifty within seconds.

"Baby, I need you here so I don't have to worry about-"

"Worry about what?! You protecting me?! I can protect my damn self! I don't need you to look after me. I'm a grown woman, also I'm a Demi God. I have powers that I wouldn't mind using," Shia says cutting off her boyfriend.

"Yeah, and your powers have been weird lately! Look, stay here. I'm not gonna ask you, I'm telling you! Now, please, stay!" Dean yelled. He didn't want to come of as an asshole or anything. He just wanted her safe. Something big is gonna go down, and he didn't want her hurt.

"Fine. Since you don't want my help I'll stay here! I don't care! Just...be careful. I mean it." Shia told Dean, he nodded. Shia pulled Dean towards her and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you, Dean. I mean that."

"I know, baby. I'll see you later." And with that he walked out the door leaving Shia standing there worried, nervous, lost.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Hours.

"Would you stop your worrying? I'm sure they're fine." Bobby told the pacing Shia. She's been walking back and forth for hours all she had on her mind was that the men in her life was coming back to her safe and unharmed. Deep down she knew that wasn't the case.

"No, Daddy. They should have been calling me by now!"

"Maybe they've got their hands full."

"Ugh! I just want to hear his voice." Shia said quietly. Bobby looked at his daughter, he knew that look.

"You love him?"

"What?"

"Dean. You love Dean?" Bobby asked.

"Yes. I mean, he is my boyfriend."

"Don't remind me. I'm still a little protective over you."

"A little? Dad, you wanted to shoot the guy the first time I told you." Shia said giggling as her mind get filled with the memory of her coming home and telling Bobby that she was now dating a Winchester.

-Flashback begins-

Shia hops off the motorcycle she borrowed from some drunk guy the night before getting home, her home.

"Daddy?!" Shia said as she walks through the house. She smiles to herself, it feels good to be home.

"In the library, Shia." Bobby said as he's reading a book about spirits seeking revenge.

"Okay, so, you needed my help on this easy little case?" Shia asked plopping down in a chair next to her father, she knew Bobby really didn't need her help, he just missed his little girl.

"Yeah, well, spirits can get pretty nasty." Shia laughed at her dad's comment.

"Bobby-"

"What did I tell you about calling me Bobby? I'm your dad, might only been ten years...but it feels like forever."

"Sorry, dad. Anyways, do I need to get some research done? I'll do it if you want me to." Shia asked Bobby, he just shook his head as a response. Without saying a word, Shia gets up and make them something to eat.

At the dining table everything was peaceful and enjoyable.

"Do you want some more potatoes?" Shia asked Bobby. She was about done with her food, she only asked because she didn't want to feel fat by being the only person to get more food.

"No, but you do. Get some food. Eat until you don't want to anymore." Bobby told Shia, she gave him a smile and piled more potatoes on her plate. "How is it working with those Winchester boys?"

"It's nice, I miss them." Shia said looking down at her plate smiling. Bobby thought about it for a minute, he knew she had a crush on Dean when they were younger, and it was obvious to him that Dean felt the same way. Damn it, John Winchester won that bet, didn't he?

"Please don't tell me..." Bobby started to say.

"Yes, we're together. Me and Dean." Shia said with the happiest smile on her face, it was obvious that she was also blushing.

"I'm gonna kill him."

-End of Flashback-

Shia was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a phone ringing. Bobby got up and went into the kitchen to answer it. Shia sat there in silence thinking about Dean, Sam, and John. Moments later Bobby comes in the room, he looked are Shia sorrowfully.

"What?" Shia asked.

"Dean, Sam, and John got in a car accident."


	18. Chapter 18: In My Time Of Dying (2x01)

Shia was very upset, she wasn't blaming anyone else but herself. She was now in the truck with her dad, Bobby, every now and then he would glance between her and the road.

"You know this ain't your fault, right?" Bobby told his daughter, Shia.

"No, dad, I should have went with them! How could I be so stupid?!"

"If you would have went then you would have gotten hurt. Stop blaming yourself, you had nothing to do with it."

"I should've been there, I could have orbed them away before the truck could have hit them," Shia said quietly, all she could think about is how she could have helped.

"Yeah, and you know how your powers have been acting lately. You need to get focused. If you were out there you wouldn't have had the strength to orb everyone out the way. Now, you stop your grievin'. This ain't your fault." Bobby told Shia, he couldn't understand why she was taking this to the heart. It wasn't her fault, Dean was the one to tell her to stay behind while him and Sam went to go find John. Then...he understood why this was hurting her so bad. It was her lover that is hurt, it is her best friend hurt, it is a man that's like a second father to her that us hurting right now. Shia's been so good to everyone, she doesn't deserve to lose anybody in her life. Bobby now understands completely, he took Shia's hand in his as he drove to the hospital Sam, Dean, and John stayed.

Bobby and Shia was now at the hospital where Sam was waiting out front, Shia jumped out of the car to run to Sam to give him a tight hug.

"Oh my God, I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried," Shia whispered in his ear. "Oh God, sorry, am I hurting you? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine." Sam told her.

"How's John?" Shia asked, Sam gave her a saddened look.

"He's not awake yet."

"Oh God. What about Dean?" Shia asked quietly, something in her gut told her that she didn't want to know the answer.

"Dean's got it worst than any of us, he's unconscious. They say he has a slight chance of waking up," Sam informed his best friend. Shia's heart broke for Dean, she could feel the tears run slowly down her face causing her mascara to become a black mess. Sam couldn't do anything but pull her into him to give her a comforting hug.

Shia knocks on John Winchesters door, he gave her a soft smile and nodded her to come inside.

"I see you're awake." Shia said sitting beside him in a chair.

"Yeah, well, I guess I am." John said giving her his bitch face, Shia laughed a little.

"John, don't be a smartass. I hate it. How are you feeling anyways?"

"Like hammered shit. What about you? How do you feel, baby girl?"

"I feel terrible. I should have been there for you guys, John. Now, Dean's in their suffering," Shia told him as she tried to blink her tears away. John grabbed her hand.

"You love my boy, don't you?" John asked.

"More than anything,"

"Promise you'll take care of him?"

"You know I'll always take care of both of them, John. Why? What are thinking?" Shia asked, she could tell that John was up to something. Her heart was burning, she got that feeling when something bad could happen at any moment.

"I just wanted to know. Look, we usually fight a little. Hell, we never really saw eye to eye. I love you. Okay? I want you to know that." John said as he reached over and gave Shia a small kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too, John. I'm gonna go visit Dean now. I think I should." Shia said getting out of her seat and walking out of the door before she left she turned around to give John a smile.

Shia enters Dean's room and takes a deep breath. He was lying in the bed. Numerous tubes were attached to him. "Oh, Dean," she softly says. She hobbles over a chair sitting next to his bed and sits down. She grabs his hand, being mindful of the IV, and squeezes it. "Dean, babe, you have to wake up. I-I can't lose you." She blinks back the tears. "You're my best friend, my boyfriend, my everything. I need you in my life. I just…I can't lose you, Dean. I don't know what I'd do without you." Little does she knows Dean's spirit is in the room with her.

'Don't worry, baby. I'm gonna wake up. Okay?' Dean told Shia, but the only thing is...she can't hear him.

"Oh Dean. I love you so much." Shia said to Dean's hospitalized body.

'I love you too, babe. I never told you that, but I should have. I love you so much baby.'

Shia lets go of his hand and wipes away the tears. Fifteen minutes later, Sam walks in carrying a large paper bag. "Hey," he says, giving her a soft smile. He sits down on the floor and takes out the Ouija board. Shia let's out a soft laugh. Did he really bring a Ouija board? Shia gets up of her sit to follow Sam to the floor.

"Shia, you don't have to-" Sam begins to say.

"If you think I'm missing out on this, then you are out of your damn mind," Shia interrupts. Sam smiles and helps her sit down on the floor, before sitting down next to her. "You know, when I was about fifteen Bobby caught me using one of these. He was so pissed. He was all like 'If you want to talk to some damn ghost you can come on hunts with me. Never turn to some damn Ouija board.' After he left the room, I laughed my ass off."

Sam laughs and shakes his head. "Shia, we have to be serious about this."

"Alright, fine." She waves her hand in front of her face. "I'm getting serious right now."

'Sammy? You've got to be kidding me? A Ouija board?' Dean said walking over to them.

"Dean, we think maybe you're around and if you are…don't make fun of me for this, but, um, we can use this to talk."

Sam and Shia each place a hand on the planchette. "Dean, if you are there, then give us a sign," Shia says and Sam stares at her. "Fine. Dean, are you here?"

The planchette moves to the word 'yes' and they smile.

"It's good to hear from you, man. It hasn't been the same without you, Dean." Sam says out loud.

'I'll be damned. It works.' Dean says to himself. Since no one can hear him or see him...he only has himself.

The planchette moves to the letters 'H' and 'U'.

"Dean, what? H…U…" The planchette moves to the letter 'N'.

"Dean, are you hunting," Shia asks, worry etched on her features.

The planchette moves to 'Yes.'

"Dean, it's in the hospital, what you're hunting - do you know what it is," Sam asks. The planchette doesn't move. "What is it?"

The planchette moves to the letters 'R', 'E', 'A', 'P'.

"Oh my God," Shia says softly. "It's a reaper."

"Dean, is it after you," Sam asks.

The planchette moves to the word 'Yes'.

Sam and Shia take their hands off the planchette. "If it's here naturally…there's no way to stop it."

"Like hell there isn't," Shia says, shaking her head. "We will find Death and break its leg with a baseball bat or something. I won't let a reaper that my man."

"Dad'll know what to do," Sam replies, standing up. Shia stands up beside him and return to her seat. "I'll be back real quick."

Shia looks at Dean's body. "I promise we'll find a way to get you back. I mean that," she says.

Sam walks back in. "Hey, Dad wasn't in his room," he says, walking over to where Shia was sitting. He holds up John's journal. "But I got his journal. There could be something in here." He starts to look through the journal, but stops. "Shouldn't we check and see if Bobby wants you back home or something?"

"I'm 24, dude. It's not like I'm 15 again." Shia said giving Sam her best bitch face.

"Just making sure." Sam said laughing softly to himself.

Shia leans against the sink in the small bathroom attached to Dean's room and washes her hands. She and Sam had been unable to find anything in John's journal that could help them with the reaper. She grabs a paper towel and dries her hands. She tosses it into the trashcan. She takes one look in the mirror, she looks like a mess, her ponytail was unkempt...she had tear stains running down her face. As she was about to make her way out of the bathroom, she heard Sam speak.

"We couldn't find anything in the book," Sam says. Shia stands there, realizing he was talking to Dean. "I don't know how to help you. But me and Shia, we'll keep trying, all right? As long as you keep fighting." Sam lets out a sad laugh. "I mean, come on, you can't leave me here alone with Dad and Shia. They'll kill each other, you know that. And we both know I'm not as good as you at running interference between Shia and Dad. I mean, hell, me and Dad bud head sometimes. Dean, you gotta hold on. You can't go now, man. We were just starting to be brothers again…can you hear me?"

Nothing happens. Shia walks out of the bathroom and Sam looks up. "Hey," she softly says.

"Guess you heard that, huh?"

"Yeah." Shia grabs his hand and squeezes. "Sam, we're going to do everything we can. It's just gonna take some time. We'll start in the morning. We'll look through every book we can think of, call everyone that might be able to help. But we are gonna do everything we can."

"Thanks-" Dean jumps and gags on the breath tube. Sam and Shia stare in shock. "Dean?"

"Sam, go get help," Shia says, snapping out of the shock. She runs over to the bed as Sam goes to the door.

"Help," Sam shouts in the hallway. "We need help!"

Shia sat in the chair, holding on to Dean's hand, and Sam stood next to her. Dean was lying in bed, perfectly fine. The doctor was at the end of the bed, reading from the chart. "I can't explain it. The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You've got some kind of angel watching over you," the doctor explains.

"Thanks, doc," Dean replies and the doctor walks out of the room. He looks at Sam and Shia. "So you guys said a reaper was after me?"

"Yeah," Sam answers.

"How'd I ditch it?"

"No clue," Shia says. "Dean, you honestly don't remember a thing?"

"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Something's wrong."

A knock comes from the door and they all look to see John enter. "How you feeling, dude," John asks Dean.

Dean shrugs. "Fine, I guess. I'm alive."

"That's what matters."

"Where were you last night," Sam angrily demands.

"I had some things to take care of."

"Well, that's specific."

"Sam," Sam says, giving him a disapproving look.

"Did you go after the demon," Sam asks.

"No," John answers.

Sam scoffs. "You know, why don't I believe you right now?"

John sadly smiles at his youngest son. "Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I - I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't wanna fight anymore, okay?"

"Dad, are you all right," Sam asks, taken back.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just tired," John replies. "Hey, Sam, Shia, would you, uh…would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

"Yeah, yeah sure," Sam says, pulling Shia out of the room with him

"We should get some pudding," Shia says as she walks out of the room with Sam. "Oh, chocolate pudding." Once they're far enough from the room, Shia slaps Sam on the shoulder. "I hit your shoulder cause I can't reach the back of your damn head, Gigantor. I know me and John fight all the time, but damn it. The man walks into the room and you're already starting to bicker at him."

"Sorry," Sam replies. They reach the elevator and Sam presses the down button. The elevator doors open and they get in. Shia presses the button for the floor where the cafeteria was. "I just…I wanted to know, Shia. He goes missing for the entire night and Dean suddenly gets better-"

"Sam, I get where you're coming from. Believe me, I do. I just think you should've waited. You kinda brought down the mood there. You guys all alive and healthy and all that other stuff." Shia said.

"Except for my hurt arm," Sam informed his best friend.

"You're still alive and healthy."

Shia walks in Dean's room and drops a pudding cup into his lap. She climbs into the hospital bed and pulls out another pudding cup and two forks. "Courtesy of the hospital cafeteria," she says.

"Where's Sam? And why don't we have spoons?," Dean asks, taking the fork and pudding.

"He went to find your Dad to give him the world's best cup of coffee. And you know I hate spoons."

"How do you feel?" Dean asked his girlfriend as he wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm fine. I just...I miss you." Shia says looking into Dean's beautiful green eyes. Dean leaned over and kissed Shia, the kiss started out soft but turned into passion and desire. When the pulled apart Dean left Shia wanting more. "I love you, Dean."

"I know. I lo-" Dean began to say but his sentence was cut short.

"It's Dad. Something's wrong," Sam frantically explains. Shia quickly gets out of her boyfriend's hospital bed and stands up. Sam helps Dean out of the bed and they all make their way down the hallway. They reach a room and see John lying on a bed, with a doctor and nurses working on him.

A nurse walks over to them. "No, no, no, it's our Dad. It's our Dad," Dean tells her and the nurse nods, walking back over.

"Okay, let's try again - an amp of atropine," the doctor tells the nurses.

"Come on," Dean mutters as he reaches down and grabs Shia's hand.

"Okay. Stop compression."

"Come on, come on." Shia says to herself.

A nurse touches John's wrist. "Still no pulse." Shia squeezes Dean's hand back as a long beep comes from a machine.

"Okay, that's it, everybody. I'll call it. Time of death - 10:41 A.M."

"No." Shia whispers to herself as tears run down her face freely.


	19. Chapter 19: Everybody Loves A Clown (Au)

One week. Seven days, one hundred and sixty eight hours, ten thousand and eighty minutes and six hundred and four thousand eight hundred seconds. You could spin it any way you wanted. It still seemed unreal. Unreal that only seven days ago the Winchesters and Shia were standing around that pyre. Watching the flames lick the sky and roar at them as they continued to get bigger and engulf John's body.

Sam was openly letting tears course down his face as the flame reflected in his glass like eyes. "Before…before he…" He couldn't even get the words out. "Did he say anything to you? About anything?"

That was all he really wanted to know. Did his dad say he was proud of them for all the hard work they had done? Proud that they had taken care of Shia? Happy that Dean had found someone and was at least a little happier than he would be alone? Sorry that him and Sammy fought every time that they came into contact with each other? That he loved them?

"No." Dean's voice was emotionless and Shia gripped his arm as one single tear fell down his face. "Nothing."

Shia found that hard to believe.

Shia lied awake in her bed, silently cursing John's name. She knew what he have done, it was obvious. Her heart was torn into small pieces, how could John do something like that?

"Damn it, John. Why? Why would you do something like that? The boys need you...I need you." Shia said turning over to see the empty side of her bed, the side where Dean would sleep. Of course Bobby hated the idea that his daughter and her boyfriend shared a bed but he quickly got over it. Shia got out of bed, threw on her mickey mouse shirt and clean black shorts and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She saw that Sam was at the dining table with stacks of papers around him.

"Hey, Sam. What ya doing?" Shia asked grabbing a seat next to him.

"Oh, nothing. Just looking over a couple of things." Sam replied writing a couple of things down on a clean sheet of paper.

"Oh okay. Do you want something to eat?" Shia asked getting up and walking over to the kitchen sink. Sam shook his head as a response, Shia nodded and looked out of the kitchen window to see her boyfriend working on the impala. "Do you know if Dean wants something to eat?"

"I don't know, Shia. He's not really talking to anyone. I mean you're his girlfriend and he doesn't talk to you." Sam realized that his statement made Shia very sad as a small tear fell from her face. "Shia, I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be. Uh, I'm gonna get ready to go to the store. Need more food in the house anyways."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. It's okay, Sam. You just keep working. I'm gonna ask daddy if I can borrow the truck." Shia said slipping on her flip flops, and grabbing her wallet. Shia asked Bobby if she could borrow the truck for an hour, of course he said yes...I mean he never really says no to her.

At the store in the breakfast isle, Shia was was battling in her head to choose either Coco puffs or Pop tarts.

"Go with the pop tarts, you like them anyways." A voice behind her said, it startled Shia for a minute but she instantly recognized the voice. She turned around to be face to face with her older brother, Julius.

"Ah, Jay!" Shia said jumping on him giving him a tight hug.

"And he gets the hugs? Not fair little sister." Shia hopped of Julius and turned around to see Michael. She couldn't say a word, she walked over and gave him a very tight hug.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Shia said looking at both of her brothers.

"You sent us a text, remember?" Julius told her.

"What? No, I didn't."

"Uh, yeah, you did. See," Julius said as he pulled out his phone, Michael doing the same. Shia looked at both phones and it says the same thing, the text read. 'Come quick, it's an emergency.'

"Guys, I didn't send this message. I haven't even looked at my phone for the past two days."

"If you didn't send it, then who did?" Michael asked the young woman in front of him, Shia just simply shrugged as fear dawned over her face. What the hell was going on?

"How about we meet back up at your days house?" Julius asked, Shia nodded as a response.

"Look, I'll pay for the groceries. You and Julius head back to your home. I'll be there ASAP." Michael said grabbing the basket his little sister had in her hands.

In the truck that Shia was driving Julius was looking around trying to figure out something.

"What are you doing, jay?" Shia asked.

"This your truck?" Julius asked Shia with nothing but curiosity spread on his face.

"No, it's my dad's," Shia said pulling into the driveway. "We're here. Get out." Shia hopped out the car the same time Julius did. Dean looked over to his girlfriend, Shia turned to him and for one second their eyes met but Dean quickly looked away. Shia slightly shook her head, and walked into the house behind her brother.

"Okay, so, let's figure this out." Shia said as soon as she walked past the door. Sam looked at Julius with a confused look. Shia ended up explaining everything, Sam understood.

"Well, me and Dean are about to go check out this woman named, Ellen. She left dad a message saying she can help with something. Are you coming or are you.." Sam informed his best friends, Shia nodded but quickly shook her head.

"Uh, I think I'm gonna get this thing with my brothers situated. Call me when you guys need something. Okay?" Shia said, Sam sadly nodded. Walking out of the kitchen to go upstairs to pack. Moments later Michael orbed into the room where Shia and Julius stood.

"Did you guys find anything out yet?" Michael said putting the groceries he bought on the dining table near by.

"Nope. Not shit," Julius says hopping on the kitchen counter. Dean walked through the door with a greasy shirt and messy pants, he took one look at Michael and got defensive. Dean pulled Shia back and put his fist up to get ready to fight, Shia gently put a hand on Dean.

"Babe, he's my other brother, Michael." Shia told her over protective boyfriend. They both shook hands, Dean turned to see Julius sitting on the counter.

"What is this? A family reunion?" Dean asked looking around to see all three siblings in the same room, Sam walks in the room to see Michael. "Before you do anything, Sammy. It's her brother, Michael." Sam nodded and gave Michael a quick handshake. Dean walked past Sam and went upstairs to the room him and Shia shared.

"Uh, why don't you guys get a snack or something? I'm gonna go help Dean pack." Shia said following the same direction Dean went. In the room Dean was changing out of his dirty clothes when Shia came in.

"Oh, sorry." Shia said walking into the room closing the door behind her.

"Ain't nothing you haven't seen before," Dean said pulling up his jeans, grabbing one of his shirts out of the closet.

"Wish I could go with you guys," Shia told Dean as she sat on the edge of the bed. Dean turned to his girlfriend, confused.

"Why can't you go?"

"I have to get something settled with my brothers, so I'm deciding to stay behind."

"Oh, well, okay." Dean said as he put his shirt on.

"Do you need me?" Shia asked helping her boyfriend put on his jacket. Dean didn't say anything instead he grabbed her and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"I'll see you when we get back, we'll call if we need anything." Dean said grabbing his bag, and leaving the room, before leaving her gave Shia a smile boyfriend. Shia stood there for a minute.

"Nice young man, I'm guessing you're with him." A voice from the corner of the room said, Shia's eyes went to a blue, white color ready to fight. The figure stepped out of the corner to show her face.

"Athena?" Shia asked.

"Ah, your power is blue, stands for loyal and braveness." Athena told her daughter, she stepped closer to her and place a hand on her cheek. "You've grown up so much." Seconds later Julius and Michael brush through the Shia's bedroom door.

"Athena?" Michael asked, She noticed that their eyes were in their power form.

"Michael's power is red, dominant and mysterious. Julius's power is green, focused and honest."

"What are you doing here?" Julius asked making his eyes go back to normal color, Shia and Michael doing the same.

"I'm in need of your help." She says stepping away from Shia to look at all three of her children.

"We don't see you for ten years, and you think you can just pop up and ask for our help?" Shia asked. "Wait. You sent them that message?"

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry for the confusion."

"What do you need?"

"There's a girl, her name is Tanner. You have to find her, she's important."

"How the hell is she important?" Julius asked.

"She's your sister." Athena replied. Shia and her brothers looked at each other. Shia found it hard to believe, the brothers nodded to the news. Of course they heard something like this before.

"Damn, how many children do you have?!" Shia asked the woman in front of her. Athena looked sort of insulted at Shia's tone, but Michael and Julius were trying hard not to laugh.

"It's just you four. I swear. Now, look, she's a bit different. She's just not growing into her powers, there are demons after her. "

"What do demons want with a newly Demi God?" Julius asked crossing his arms. Shia nodded in agreement while Michael realized as to why they would want Tanner.

"Because with a Demi God on your side, there will be no such thing as losing." Michael told the both of Hus siblings.

"He's right. Please, just find her and help her. She's your sister, your family." Athena said before disappearing.

"Wait. How the hell are we supposed to find her?" Shia asked. Michael and Julius smiled at her.

"The same we found you sis. Sit back a let the pros handle this." Julius said softly pushing his sister on her bed. Shia just sat there watching the boys in silence. "Where's your dad anyways?"

"He's actually working on a small case, he took one of the other cars he had working. Sam and Dean took this ugly ass mini van he had running because the impala is looking like shit right now, but anyways. Proceed to doing what you were doing." Shia informed the grown men in front of her, they didn't say anything...they just looked at her.

"Okay...Michael you ready?"

"As ready as ever." Michael said making his eyes this beautiful red, white looking color. Julius did the same as him. Both brothers lift there hands in the air sort of forcing their powers together, while both powers collided together a ball was formed...inside of it was a girl making dinner for herself. She was obviously the shortest out of all siblings. She had light brown skin and what looks like gray eyes, her brown hair fell down to her back and her bangs just about covered up her eyes. She was petite but she had hips. Shia was shocked at how much this Tanner girl looked like her when she was like fourteen... But this girl is much older than fourteen.

West County, Michigan is where Shia, Julius, and Michael are located. They stood outside the apartment of Tanner Michelle Lowe, they were all watching her every move making sure she wasn't surrounded by danger.

"This is the second and last time I'm ever standing outside an apartment waiting or watching someone." Shia said pushing over Julius so she could get a closer look.

"Wait. You've done this before?" Michael asked turning to his sister waiting for an answer.

"Well, a little over a year ago...around the time me and Dean got together...we went to go get Sam from college to come hunt with us...to find John. Anyways, uh, we stalked him for a bit."

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all." Julius said with a playful smirk on his face.

"Oh please. Julius, you remember we had to watch Shia to make sure she was our sister?" Michael asked Julius. Now it was Shia's turn to have a playful smirk on her face.

"Guess you are the creepy one, Julius." Shia said laughing a little to herself. Julius playfully pushed his little sister softly. Just then they all say a guy walk up the stairs to knock on Tanner's apartment door. "What do you boys think? Boyfriend?"

"Maybe. Hold on. It's about a little after 9:50 p.m. What the hell does he want?"

"Michael, dude, it's obvious. Same thing you would want from Katie at this time of hour." Julius said patting his oldest brother on the shoulder. Shia turned to Michael with a confused face.

"Who's Katie?" Shia asked.

"His wife." Shia's eyes went wide at Julius's words, while Michael gave Julius a mean death glare.

"When was I gonna find out about this?" Shia asked crossing her arms, while her face showed pure amusement.

"I don't talk about her, alright? She's safer that way." Michael told Shia, she looked at him and nodded. She understood wanting to keep the person you love safe.

"Okay, I under-" Shia's sentence was cut short from the screams they heard from Tanner's apartment. All three siblings rushed up the building stairs, Michael burst through the door first. The guys had Tanner on the for crying looks like he had a knife in his hands.

"Put the knife down or else!" Julius said getting in front of Shia, his eyes turned into his green, white color.

"Or what? You gonna kill me? Huh, Demi Gods?" The guy said lifting his head up to reveal his black eyes, Tanner looked up at him in complete horror.

"Oh my god. Kurt? What happened?" Tanners says more tears threatening to leave her face.

"Kurt's long gone, sweetheart. Now, you need to come with me. Be on my side, with me." Demon Kurt says walking towards Tanner, that's when Shia's eyes turned into her power color. Shia used her powers to throw Kurt across the room, she only thought of a lamp and it appeared in her hands..she used it to throw at the demon.

"Wait, no! He's my friend!" Tanner said getting in front of the unconscious demon.

"Look, he isn't your friend anymore." Michael told the young woman in front of him. Tanner looked at all three siblings standing in front of her, she was scared of course...but something inside of her told her not to be.

"Who are you people?! Why are you here?!" Tanner yelled.

"First of all, we saved your ass! Second, it's hard to explain. Just...come with us. We can take you to safety. Please. You're in danger." Shia said matching Tanner's tone but ended up making her voice become a bit softer...the last thing she wants was to scare the poor girl.

"How do I know if you're really the evil ones or not?"

"Because we haven't tried to hurt you." Michael stated confidently. Tanner nodded, she ran in her room and grabbed a couple of shirts and pants and put it into her bag. All four of them ran out of the apartment building and ran to Shia's back up car she 'borrowed' from someone in one of the bars the stopped at before coming to Michigan.

"So, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or not? I mean I'm in a car full of strangers. Hell, I chose you three over my best friend." Tanner said once they were on the road. Shia, Michael, and Julius glanced at each other as Michael spoke up.

"Well, first thing is that guy back there wasn't your friend anymore...it was a demon. Looks like that thing has been in your friend for weeks."

"You're crazy."

"You saw his eyes back there, Tanner. They were black. He was a demon." Julius told Tanner who was sitting right beside him.

"Your eyes changed."

"Okay, second thing...all four of us are Demi Gods."

"What the hell do you mean by four?! And Demi Gods?! I'm in a car full of crazy people." Tanner said, anyone can tell by the tone of her voice she was getting scared.

"Look, Tanner, all of this stuff is hard to come by. Trust me, I was in your shoes once...but I was a lot younger. You are our sister, can't you tell? We all have some similar features, we get it from our mother Athena. She's the goddess of wis-" Shia started saying.

"Goddess of Wisdom and War. Oh my God...it wasn't a dream. She came to me saying that soon people will be coming for me to take me to safety and help me with my 'powers'. I thought it was all a dream. I mean...I don't know what I mean anymore. Could you guys just let me sleep everything off? Maybe this right now is a crazy, vivid dream." Tanner finishes off before laying her head on her sit slowly drifting to sleep.

"We have to go," Julius said sitting up a little to look at Shia.

"What?! You're not about leave me with some girl who just got out of her teenage years! What the hell am I supposed to do with her?!" Shia yelled in an anger whisper, she respected Tanner enough to let her grab some hours of sleep.

"Well, I have a job and a wife to get to. So, I have a reason. I don't know Julius's reason." Michael said leaning back in his seat.

"Well, believe it or not guys...but...I have a life. I don't have to explain." Julius said crossing his arms. Shia and Michael smiled at each other. Soon after that both men orbed away. Shia was left with Tanner back in her seat, she smiled to herself at how peaceful she looked but she already know that nothing is peaceful for her at all.

Back at Bobby's Shia parked the car in the backyard, Tanner was awake now so she got out the car. Dean was out working on his car, Shia got out her car to look at him. He didn't really make eye contact, but Shia could tell that he was frustrated. Shia walked in front of Tanner as they walked through Bobby's door, Sam was the first to notice Tanner.

"Shia, hey, who's this?" Sam asked looking at Tanner, she looked away from him.

"Oh, this is Tanner. Tanner, honey, this is Sam. My boyfriend's brother." Shia said introducing the two, Tanner looked in Sam's eyes again. She knew him but she doesn't know where from. "Sam, what's going on with Dean?"

"We had a fight. I don't want to talk about it." Sam told Shia his eyes becoming sad.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, why don't you show Tanner to the room you sleep in? There's two beds in there. She'll be sleeping in one of them."

"Wait. What?!" Tanner asked.

"Yeah, you'll be in the same room as Sam. Don't worry, honey, he won't bite you. Oh, wait, how was the trip to that Ellen woman?" Shia said turning to Sam, he didn't say anything...he just gave her a face. Wait. She knew that face. "Oh shit. Clowns?" Sam just nodded. "Well, I'm going outside to check on Dean. Show Tanner where she'll sleep." Shia turned around to go outside to talk to her boyfriend.

"Hi," Sam says awkwardly. Tanner gave him a soft smile.

"Hi. So...you hate clowns?" Tanner asked Sam, smiling to herself.

"Uh, yeah. I do."

"Me too."

"Well, come on. Let me show you to the room" Sam said walking off and Tanner following him.

Outside it was just Shia and Dean. Shia walked over to Dean as mad as ever. Dean looked at her once before working on the car again.

"Dean, what the hell is your problem?!" Shia said shoving Dean slightly when she walked up to him. Dean threw down his wrench and turned to Shia.

"What?! What do you want now?! You trying to have this grief talk with me?! Huh?! Well, guess what? I'm not having the talk with you or the next person! Sam already tried, and look how's he feeling now!" Dean yelled at the top of his lungs. Shia didn't know what to say, she was sort of taken aback.

"You're such an ass." Shia told him as she turned around to go back inside. Dean quickly picked up his crowbar and started to beat the impala, all the work he did on it didn't seem to matter to him anymore. Shia ran over to Dean and grabbed the crowbar and threw it to the side, she hugged him so tightly as he started to sob on her shoulders. She allowed him to release all his pain, and sorrow.


	20. Chapter 20: Bloodlust (2x03)

One week ago.

"I'm sorry," Dean said as he kissed Shia repeatedly as they make their way to the bedroom they shared.

"I'm sorry too," Shia said allowing Dean to kiss her neck as he closed the door with his foot. Dean lifted her shirt and took it off in one swift motion, he pulled her closer and kissed her harshly on the lips. Shia broke the kiss for a second to get Dean's shirt off. Dean then moved things to the bed, he laid Shia down gently and started to kiss her exposed skin, his ears were filled with her moans. Smiling to himself Dean took the chance to unbutton her jeans and instantly pulled them off leaving her in only her bra and undies. Shia pulled Dean's face to hers kissing him craving everything from him, the taste of his tongue a good mixture of alcohol and mint, his skin against hers, she just wanted to feel him. Shia slowly reached down to unbuckle his belt before unbuttoning his jeans, Dean did her a favor by pulling them down only leaving him in his boxer briefs. The couple started to kiss again, enjoying each touch, kiss, emotion. Moments later the undergarments from each of them were gone, Dean now is on top of Shia center at her entrance. Slowly, Dean moves in. Shia knew that this was different, for them it's usually rough and passionate but at the moment Dean is the most loving person she can think of, slow and gentle, enjoying every moment they have with each other. Moans filled the room as the both rode out their climax. Cuddled up to each other Dean was the first to speak.

"I love you," Dean says looking into Shia's eyes. Shia eyes became wide, she lifted herself up from him.

"What?" Shia asked not quite sure if she heard him correctly. Dean grabbed her and kissed her softly.

"I said I love you. I'm not afraid to say it anymore. Shia, I'm in love with you." Dean says to her, Shia looked at the man she called boyfriend. He was telling the truth. Shia reached over and laid a hand on his cheek, she kissed him once again.

"Make love to me," Shia tells Dean, he laughed to himself for moment.

"Isn't that what I just did?"

"Do it again." Dean didn't argue with her suggestion, he did what she wanted him to do.

He made love to her.

Present Time.

Right now, Shia's in the kitchen grabbing some bagels Bobby left for them to eat in the morning. Tanner came down after Sam, smiling and laughing. Shia notices that Tanner and Sam have been getting pretty close lately, she didn't complain about it. Shia hasn't seen Sam smile so much in the years of knowing him. Shia and Tanner have became really good friends, they haven't gotten use to the whole sister thing.

"You guys hungry?" Shia asked the two people coming into the kitchen.

"Starving. What do have? Bagels? Love bagels." Tanner says as she grabs two bagels and grab some jelly to go with it. Sam and Shia laughs to themselves. Tanner is so tiny but she can eat for three football teams.

"What smells good down here?" Dean said entering the kitchen and giving Shia a light kiss on the lips before grabbing a bagel. "We should be get going on that case. I'm ready to go." Dean walks out the house to go outside to go beside the impala packing up their stuff.

"Okay, well, let's go. Tanner, are you sure you're gonna be okay here by yourself for a couple of hours? Dad told me he'll be back before this afternoon." Shia asked Tanner who was sitting at the table reading some books, flipping the pages with her powers...a trick she learned from Michael when he came over a couple of days ago.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just ready for some more lessons." Tanner said with a smile. Sam got up for the table and gave Tanner a quick before leaving to go outside the house.

"Okay, well, call if you need us." Shia told her before leaving out the door.

The newly rebuilt Impala speeds down the empty county back road. 'Back in Black' poured from the speakers. Dean laughs and tightens his grip on the steering wheel. Sam sat in the passenger seat, slightly amused at his brother's behavior. Shia was stretched out in the back seat, reading a book and trying to remain calm. "Woo," Dean exclaims. "Listen to her purr. You ever heard anything so sweet?"

"You know, if you wanna get a room, just let me and your girlfriend know, Dean," Sam replies.

Dean pets the dashboard. "Oh, don't listen to him, baby. He doesn't understand us."

"You're in a good mood," Sam comments.

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"No reason."

"I got my car, got my girl in the backseat, got a case - things are looking up." Dean says sending Shia a smile.

"Wow, Dean. Give you a couple of severed heads, a pile of dead cows, and you're Mr. Sunshine. All bright and happy." Sam states.

Dean laughs. "How far to Red Lodge," he asks Sam.

Sam grabs a map off the seat next to him. "Uh, about another three hundred miles," he answers.

"Good," Dean says and presses down on the gas making hit her head against the window, she glares at him and readjusts her position in the back seat. "Sorry, babe."

"Just go easy on the gas, Dean."

Shia closes her book when the brothers climb into the Impala. She had been out voted when it came to her going inside to talk to the local sheriff, which meant that she had been forced to stay inside the Impala. "So, what'd you learn," she asks.

"That Dean needs to work on remembering the name of newspapers," Sam answers.

"Shut up," Dean counters, turning around giving Shia a quick kiss before starting the Impala. "And we didn't learn anything, which is why we're going to the morgue."

"Well, I am not sitting in this car anymore," Shia exclaims. "And neither of you are going to stop me. I mean it."

Dean smirks. "You've been the one that never wants to wait, babe."

"Don't forget how impatient you get Mr. 'Don't tease me.' " Shia says with a playful smirk forming on her face.

"That's it. You're staying in the car, Shia." Dean jokes.

"That's what you think."

The three of them walk down the hallway towards the morgue. They reach a desk where a young man was sitting. He wore white scrubs. Dean notices the name tag on his shirt. "John-" Dean starts.

"Jeff," the man corrects.

Dean chuckles. "Jeff, I knew that. Dr. Dorkin needs to see you in his office right away."

"But Dr. Dorkin's on vacation."

"Well, he's back. And he's pissed and he's screaming for you, man, so if I were you, I would-"

"Okay," Jeff interrupts for a second time, standing up. They watch as he quickly walks down the hallway before entering the morgue.

"Dumb ass." Shia said with a smirk.

"Hey, those Satanists in Florida - they marked their victims, didn't they?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, reverse pentacle on the forehead," Sam answers.

"So, much messed up shit happens in Florida," Dean comments. He tosses latex gloves over to them, then walks over to the body storage. He opens a compartment and pulls out the table. A body was laying on a table with a plastic bin where her head would be. He grabs the bin and puts it on the table. "Alright. Open it."

"You open it."

Shia rolls her eyes walking towards them. "I swear you two act more like a girl than I do," she tells them and opens the bin. "No pentagram."

"Wow. Poor girl." Sam says.

"Maybe we should, uh, look in her mouth, see if this wacko stuffed anything down her throat. You know, kind of like the moth in Silence of the Lambs," Dean comments.

"Good idea, Dean," Shia said, pushing the bin towards him. "You go ahead and do that."

"No, you go ahead." He smirks at her. "Put the lotion in the basket, babe."

Shia stares at him. "You're disgusting, Dean." He shrugs in response. She turns to Sam, who shakes his head at her. "You guys are such losers." Reluctantly, Shia sticks her fingers in the girl's mouth. " Oh, God. I think I'm gonna puke."

Shia starts to remove her hand, but Dean stops her. "Life up her lip again."

"Dude, what the hell? Seriously?" Shia asked her boyfriend.

"I think I saw something." Dean lifts the girl's lip. Her gums weren't smooth, but seemed to be bumpy. Dean presses down and a tooth slides out.

"It's a tooth," Sam states.

"Sam, that's a fang. It's a retractable set of vampire fangs. You gotta be kidding me."

"This changes things."

"You think," Shia asks. She pulls of the gloves. "Did I ever mention how much I hate vampires?" Shia pouted, Dean smiled and pulled her to him kissing her gently.

"Guys! Can you not...?" Sam asked making his way to the door.

Sam, Dean, Shia make their way through the bar to the counter. The bartender walks over to them. "How's it going," Dean asks.

"Living the dream. What can I get for you," the bartender asks.

"Three beers, please."

"So, we're looking for some people," Sam says.

"Sure. It's hard to be lonely," the bartender replies.

"Yeah. But, um...that's not what I meant." Sam takes out a twenty dollar bill and places it on the counter. The bartender immediately takes it. "Great. So, these people would've moved here about six months ago. Probably pretty rowdy. Like to drink."

"They're the party all night, sleep in all day kind of folks," Shia adds.

"Barker Farm got leased out a couple months ago," the bartender explains. "Real winners. They've been in here a lot. Drinkers, noisy. I had to eighty-six 'em once or twice."

"Thanks," Dean tells him and they walk out of the bar. They walk down an alley. Shia frowns when Dean pulls her into a smaller, darker alley and steps in front of her. After a few minutes, an African-American man walks past them. Sam and Dean step out behind the man, then they pin him against the wall. Dean holds a large knife to his neck. "Smile."

"What," the man laughingly asks.

"Show us those pearly whites."

"Oh for the love of..." He rolls his eyes. "You wanna stick that thing someplace else? I'm not a vampire. Yeah, that's right. I heard you guys in there."

"What do you know about vampires," Sam asks.

"How to kill 'em. Now, seriously, bro. That knife's making me itch."

The man starts to move, but Dean pushes him back. "Hey!"

"Whoa. Easy there, Chachi." The man lifts up his life and his gums are normal. "See? Fangless. Happy?" They back away from him. Dean wraps his arm around Shia. "Now, who the hell are you?"

"Dean Winchester," Dean introduces. "My brother, Sam. And this girl beside me is Shia." Gordon nodded, his glance landed on Shia. He have her a smile, which made Shia feel uncomfortable.

"Gordon Walker." He walks down the alley and they follow him. They arrive at an red-orange El Camino. "Sam and Dean Winchester. Shia Colten," Gordon repeats, unlocking his door. He pulls out his hidden arsenal. Shia raises an eyebrow at the various knives and guns. "I can't believe it. You know, I met your old man once - hell of a guy, great hunter. I heard he passed. I'm sorry. It's big shoes, but, from what I hear, you guys fill 'em - great trackers, good in a tight spot."

"You seem to know a lot about our family." Sam says crossing his arms.

"Well, word travels fast. You know how hunters talk."

"No, we don't, actually."

"I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?"

"So, those two vampires...that was you," Shia asks, changing the subject before Dean can say something.

"Yup. Been here two weeks."

"Did you check out that Barker Farm," Dean asks.

"It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill you with that patchouli smell alone."

"Where's the nest then?"

Gordon smiles and shakes his head as he pushes the arsenal back into his hiding spot. "I got this one covered. Look, don't get me wrong, it's a real pleasure meeting you fellas. But I've been on this thing for over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."

"We could help." Dean told him.

"Thanks, but I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy."

"Come on, man, I've been itching for a hunt." Dean begged, Shia turned to Dean with a confused look on her face.

"Sorry. But hey, I hear there's a chupacabra two states over. Go ahead and knock yourselves out." Gordon climbs into his car. He starts it and rolls down the window. "It was real good meeting you through. I'll buy you a drink on the flip side."

They watch as Gordon drives away. "We're gonna follow him, aren't we," Shia asks. Dean doesn't say anything. She looks up at Sam and they both watch as Dean walks to where the Impala was parked. "I'm now worried about him, Sam."

"Yeah, I know. Let's go," Sam says putting his arm around his best friend as they walk back to the impala.

Shia had stayed in the Impala while Dean and Sam went to help Gordon deal with the vampire, for some reason she wasn't feeling all that well so Dean made her stay in the car. When they came back, Sam had a concerned look on his face while Dean seemed creepily happy, since his face was covered in blood.

Shia hadn't asked what had happened. But it was obvious that the vampire had been dealt with. They were sitting in the bar and she sat in between Dean and Sam with Gordon across from her. A waitress comes over and sets four shots down. Dean starts to take out his wallet, when Gordon waves him off. "No, no. I got it."

Dean takes out his wallet and opens it. "Come on."

"I insist." Gordon places money the waitress' tray. "Thank you, sweetie." He and Dean raise their shot glasses. "Another one bites the dust." Shia reaches for one, but Sam sends her a disapproving look and she leans back.

"That's right."

"Dean," Gordon laughs. "You gave that big ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."

"Thank you."

"Uh, Dean. I think I'm gonna go to the restroom. I'll be right back." Shia whispered in Dean's ear, he nodded for her to go ahead. Gordon watched as she walked off.

"So, guys...is she single? I mean she's a-" Gordon started to say, but Dean turned and answered him really quick.

"She's taken." Dean told him grabbing another drink.

"Oh. By you? Wow, I didn't think-"

"What? You don't think she looks like my brothers type?" Sam said out of the blue.

"No, I didn't mean that." Gordon said defending himself, Dean turned to Sam and gave him a look.

"Okay, I'm back. I just had to check my eyeliner makeup." Shia said getting back in her seat beside Dean.

"Anyways, that vamp action...That was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." Gordon told Dean with a smile.

"Yep." Dean notices the upset look on Sam's face. "You alright, Sammy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam coldly answers, Shia looked at all three men confused as to what she missed while she was in the restroom.

"Well, lighten up a little, Sammy," Gordon says.

Sam nods towards Shia and Dean. "They're the only ones that get to call me that."

"Okay. No offense meant. Just celebrating a little, job well done."

"Right. Well, um, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess." Sam told him crossing his arms.

"Oh, come on, man. It's not like it was human. You've gotta have a little more fun with your job."

Dean snaps his fingers. "See, that's what I've been trying to tell him. You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

"Yeah, I bet I could," Sam tells them, standing up. "Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down. I'm just gonna go back to the motel."

Shia pushes her chair back and gave Dean a quick kiss. "I'll head back with Sam..."

"You guys sure," Dean asks, grabbing Shia to give her one more kiss.

Shia glances at Sam. "Uh, yeah. I'm tired anyways."

"Sammy." Sam turns and Dean tosses him the keys to the Impala. "Remind me to beat that buzz kill outta you later, alright?"

Sam doesn't say anything and walks out of the bar. Shia follows him and finds Sam waiting just outside the door. "I'm sorry, Shia, but I had to get out of there."

Shia sighs as they walk over to the Impala. "Sam, we both know the real reason why Dean is acting like he is. All we can do is wait for him to deal with his grief on his own."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'm always right, Sam. Come on, let's go back to the motel and do research on Gordon. Cause something's bugging me about him. I don't like the way he looks at me."

Shia sat on the bed opposite from Sam searching through hers and Dean's duffel bag for some clean clothing. She decided on shorts and a tank top. Sam dials a number on his phone.

"Who are you calling? Tanner?" Shia jokes laughing to herself. Sam sends her a serious look.

"No, I'm not calling her right now. I'm calling a woman named Ellen Harvelle. We went to the roadhouse, remember?"

"I remember Dean telling me about that. Yeah, okay. Well, you do that. I'm gonna go take a relaxing bath...so...yeah." Shia said getting up from the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

The motel room is empty when Dean enters. He motions for Gordon to take a seat at the table as he grabs the map off the dresser. "Will someone please help me?" Shia asked. Gordon starts to stand up, but Dean waves him off and walks over to the bathroom. He enters the bathroom and pulls back the shower curtain to find Shia sitting in the bathtub with a towel wrapped around her.

"What do you need, baby," Dean asks, smirking at her.

"I got lazy all of the sudden, and I don't want to put any energy in trying to get out of this bath, so help me." Dean wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her out of the tub. He sets her on the edge. He smacks her ass in the process. "What was that for?"

"Cause I wanted to. God, you're beautiful."

Dean walks out the bathroom and closes the door behind him. He sits down across from Gordon, who had the map spread out on the table. "Well, this is the best pattern I can establish," he says, pointing out different areas on the map. "It's sketchy, at best."

"Looks like it's all coming from this side of town, which means the nest would be around here someplace, right?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Problem is, there's thirty-five, forty farms out there. I've searched about half of 'em already, but nothing yet. They're covering their tracks real good."

"I guess we'll just have to search the other half."

The bathroom door opens and Shia walks out, wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Where's Sam," she asks, sitting down on the bed.

"Car's parked outside. Probably went for a walk - seems like the take-a-walk type," Gordon replies.

"He is, but Sam wouldn't just leave. Not without telling me at least," Shia counters. The motel door opens and they turn to see Sam enter the room. She stands up, crossing her arms. "Sam-"

"Can I talk to you two alone," Sam asks, looking between Dean and Shia. She nods and walks out of the room. Sam follows her.

"You mind chilling out for a couple minutes," Dean asks Gordon. Gordon shakes his head and Dean joins Sam and Shia outside.

"Dean, maybe we've gotta rethink this hunt."

"What are you talking about? Where were you?"

"In the nest," Sam answers after a moment.

"You found it?"

"They found me."

"Are you okay," Shia immediately asks checking to see if Sam was hurt.

Sam nods. "How'd you get out," Dean asks. "How many did you kill?"

"None," Sam replies.

"So, they just let you go," Shia asked confusingly.

"That's exactly what they did."

"Alright, well, where is it," Dean asks.

"I was blindfolded, I don't know."

"Well, you've gotta know something."

"We went over that bridge outside of town, but Dean, listen, maybe we shouldn't go after 'em."

"I'm not understanding, Sammy. What do you mean," Shia asks.

"I don't think they're like other vampires. I don't think they're killing people."

"You're joking," Dean scoffs. Sam stares at him, sending him a look that begged him to listen. "Then how do they stay alive? Or undead or whatever the hell they are?"

"The cattle mutilations. They said they live off of animal blood."

"And you believed 'em?"

"Look at me, Dean. They let me go without a scratch."

"Wait, so you're saying..." Dean shakes his head. "No, man. No way. I don't know why they let you go, I don't really care. We find 'em and we waste 'em."

"Why?"

"What part of vampires don't you understand, Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it. End of story, that's our job." Dean says, Shia turned to him with a hurt expression on her face. If you really think about it, She's a supernatural being. Would he kill her?

"No, Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil." Sam argued.

"Of course they're killing people! That's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of 'em."

"No, Dean, I don't think so, alright? Not this time."

"Gordon's been on those vamps for a year, man. He knows."

"Gordon," Shia disbelievingly asks.

"Yes."

"So, you're taking his word over Sam's? Some guy you just met, Dean?" Shia asked once more.

"That's right."

"Ellen says he's bad news," Sam tells him.

"You called Ellen?" Sam nodded. "And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely know her, Sam. No thanks, I'll go with Gordon."

"Right, cause Gordon's such an old friend. You don't think we can see what this is?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He's a substitute for Dad, isn't he? A poor one."

"Shut up, Sam," Dean coldly says, walking away. He could feel the anger creeping up his spine.

"He's not even close, Dean. Not on his best day."

Dean turns back to them. He had a forced smile on his face. "You know what, I'm not even gonna-"

"You know what, you slap on this big, fake smile, but I can see right through it, cause I know how you feel, Dean! Dad's dead! And he left a hole and it hurts so bad you can't take it, but you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to! It's an insult to his memory."

"Okay." Dean starts to walk away, but turns around and punches Sam.

"Sam," Shia exclaims, running over to him. She places a comforting hand on his arm. "What the hell is wrong with you, Dean?"

"You can hit me all you want," Sam says after a moment. "It won't change anything."

"I'm going to that nest," Dean tells him. "You don't wanna tell me where it is? Fine. I'll find it myself." He walks back to the motel room.

"Dean." Shia walks Sam back to the room. When they enter it's empty.

"Gordon?"

"Think he went after them," Shia asks, going over to her bag. Her hoodie was sitting on top and she grabs it.

"Probably."

"Dean, we have to stop him," Sam says.

"Really, Sam? Cause I say we lend a hand."

"Just give me the benefit of the doubt, would you? You owe me that."

"Yeah, we'll see. I'll drive, give me the keys." Sam motions to the small plastic cactus sitting on the table. But the keys weren't there. "Son of bitch."

"Let's just figure something out in the car," Shia says, walking out of the room. Sam grabs the map and the three of them walk the Impala.

Shia quickly crawls into the backseat while Dean hotwires the Impala. "I can't believe this. I just fixed her up too," he mutters. The Impala starts and he sits up. Sam was examining the map. "So, the bridge - is that all you got?"

"The bridge was four and a half minutes from their farm."

"How do you know?"

"I counted. We took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly uphill, then took another quick right and we hit the bridge."

"You're good. You're a monster pain in the ass...but you're good."

The drive had been tense, with Sam giving directions every now and then. The nest was a small farm house. And Gordon's car had been barely visible as they drove past it. Most of the belongings in the house were gone. They enter the kitchen to find a woman tied to a chair. Cuts were all over her pale face. Gordon stood next to her, holding a knife covered in blood. "Sam, Dean, Shia, come on in."

"Gordon, what's going on," Dean cautiously asks.

"Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood. She's gonna tell us where all her little friends are, aren't you? Wanna help?"

"Look, man-"

"Grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers."

Lenore tiredly groans when Gordon cuts her arm. "Whoa, whoa, hey," Dean says. "Let's all just chill out, huh?"

"I'm completely chill."

Sam steps towards him. Dean holds his arm, stopping him from going closer. "Gordon, put the knife down."

"But it sounds like it's Sammy who needs to chill."

"Just step away from her, alright?"

"You're right," Gordon says, putting his knife down. "I'm wasting my time here. This bitch will never talk." He takes out another knife, this one bigger than his pervious one. "Might as well put her out of her misery. I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane."

Sam walks over to Lenore. "Gordon, I'm letting her go."

Gordon points his knife at Sam. "You're not doing a damn thing."

"Gordon, how about we talk about this first," Shia says, casting a worried glance at the knife.

"What's there to talk about? It's like I said - no shades of gray."

"Yeah, I hear you," Dean responds. "And I know how you feel."

"Do you?"

"The vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but-"

Gordon laughs. "Killed my sister? That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her. It made her one of them. So, I hunted her down and I killed her myself."

Shia stares at him in horror. "You did what?"

"It wasn't my sister anymore. It wasn't human. I didn't blink...and neither would you, Dean."

"So, you knew all along then," Sam states. "You know about the vampires, you knew they weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle and you just didn't care."

"Care about what? A nest of vampires suddenly acting nice? Taking a little time out from sucking innocent people? And we're supposed to buy that? Trust me. It doesn't change what they are. And I can prove it."

Gordon grabs Sam's arm and cuts him, then presses the knife to his throat. Dean pulls out his gun and aims it at Gordon. "Let him go. Now!"

"Relax. If I wanted to kill him, he'd already be on the floor. Just making a point."

Gordon turns Sam's arm to where blood drops on Lenore's face. Shia tenses when Lenore's fangs come out. "Let him go," she says.

"You think she's so different? Still wanna save her? Look at her. They're all the same - evil, bloodthirsty."

Shia lets out relived breath when Lenore's fangs disappear. "No," Lenore moans, shaking her head. "No!"

"You hear her, Gordon," Sam asks. He pushes a shocked Gordon away. "We're done here."

"Sam, get her out of here," Dean orders as Sam unties Lenore from the chair.

"Yeah." Sam picks up Lenore and he, along with Shia, walk out of the house. Outside, Shia sits down on the steps. He notices and turns to her. "Shia."

"I'll wait here," Shia interrupts. She gives him a reassuring smile. "Go. I'll be fine. I'm just feeling a bit uneasy." Sam continues to the Impala. She watches as he puts Lenore in the front, then climbs in and drives off. She sits there, even as sounds of a fight from inside the house reach her. After it's silent for a while, Shia makes her way back inside. Furniture is broken or over turned. Gordon was tied to a chair and she ignores the glare he sends her. Dean was sitting on a couch. He doesn't say anything as she sits down next to him. He doesn't tear his gaze away from Gordon as Shia places a comforting hand on his arm.

They're in the same position when Sam walks back in a couple of hours later. Shia removes her hand and stands up. "Did I miss anything," he asks, looking between her and Dean.

"Nah, not much," Dean answers, standing up. "Lenore get out okay?"

"Yeah. All of 'em did."

Gordon's glare intensifies. "Then I guess our work here is done. How you doing, Gordy? Gotta tinkle yet? Alright...well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have 'em come out, untie you."

Shia rolls her eyes as Dean slams Gordon's knife in a table no where near Gordon. "Ready, Dean," she asks.

"Not yet. I guess this is goodbye. It's been real." Dean punches Gordon and the chair that Gordon's tied to falls over. Dean stares at him for a second, then joins Shia and Sam. "Okay. I'm good now. We can go." Shia shakes her head as they walk out of the house. The sun was rising over the horizon and she smiles. "Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam replies.

Dean stops and Sam looks at him. "Clock me one."

"What?"

"Come on. I won't even hit you back. Let's go."

Sam stares at his older brother. "No."

"Let's go, you get a freebie! Hit me, come on."

"You look like you just went twelve rounds with a block of cement, Dean. I'll take a rain check."

Dean shrugs and they continue to the Impala. "I wish we never took this job, cause it jacked everything up."

"What do you mean," Shia asks, leaning against the door.

"Think about all the hunts we went on our whole lives."

"Uh huh."

"What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know, I mean, the way Dad raised us..."

"Dean, after what happened to Mom..." Sam pauses. "Dad did the best he could."

"I know he did. But the man wasn't perfect. I mean the way he raised us to hate those things and man, I hate 'em. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill, I didn't even think about it. Hell, I even enjoyed it."

"You didn't kill Lenore."

"Yeah, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her, I was gonna kill 'em all."

"Yeah, Dean, but you didn't. And that's what matters."

"Yeah...because you're both a pain in my ass."

Sam laughs as Shia rolls her eyes, but smile nonetheless. "Guess we might have to stick around and be a pain in the ass then."

"Thanks."

Shia climbs in the backseat. "Don't mention it," Sam tells him, then climbs into the front seat. Dean stares at the house for moment. He knew that Sam had a point, but he couldn't help the way he felt. He climbs into the passenger seat and they drive off.

Back at bobby's in the room Shia and Dean shared, Shia sat at her small desk trying to get information on Si-Gods or whatever.

"You gonna be at that all night? Don't you want any sleep?" Dean asked getting ready for bed.

"Why? The supernatural doesn't sleep, Dean. I'd have to watch my back. You might kill me." Shia said as she closed her eyes thinking about what Dean said earlier about the supernatural.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean counters, a little taken aback that his girlfriend would say something like that.

"You know what I'm talking about! You said whatever is supernatural, you'd kill it. It's your job. Has it ever occurred to you that I'm a supernatural being?" Realization hit Dean quickly when he thought about, he looked into Shia's eyes seeing how hurt she was...then it happened...her eyes were soft pink with a small amount of purple.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean it. Okay? I could never hurt you, and you know that!" Dean said pulling his girlfriend in a long hug. Shia didn't fight it, she hugged him back. After a few minutes, they both decided to go to bed.


	21. Chapter 21: Simon Said (2x05)

(Two weeks after 'BloodLust')

It was the middle of night when Bobby decided to go to the fridge for a very late night snack, he knew that he'll regret eating so late when he has heartburn. Pasting the downstairs restroom he heard a noise, he stopped where he was. He heard it again, a gagging sound. 'What the hell?' He thought to himself, Bobby slowly opened the door to see his daughter Shia on the floor over the toilet throwing up contents from her stomach.

"You okay, baby girl?" Bobby said reaching over his daughter to rub her back.

"I'm fine, dad. I've been doing this for about a week now." Shia said softly. Bobby looked at her, she looked terrible. Bags under her eyes, she looked tired, her hair was all over the place. She just looked terrible, but at that second Bobby realized something. She's sick all the time, she wants more food, she's a bit more moody than usual. 'Could she be? No. No. She can't be.'

"Damn it. That better be the flu." Bobby said under his breathe.

"Why would you say that, dad?" Shia said lifting herself up now, sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Well, have you ever thought about it? About the possibilities of you being...pregnant?" Bobby asked giving Shia a stern look. Shia jumped off the counter to get a good look at her father.

"What? No. Dad! No, I mean..." Realization hit Shia hard as she thought about the last time her and Dean made love...about a month ago...no protection was being used...and she skipped her period. "Oh my God."

"Oh, you idgit. We happen to the sex talk we had when you were sixteen? Protection at all times."

"I know, dad. I just...Oh my God...what if I am?"

"Then you tell Dean that I'm gonna kill him in his sleep." Bobby said with a frown on his face, he thought that if she was pregnant...that means she was growing up way too fast.

"Why just in his sleep?" Shia asked curiously crossing her arms.

"So, he can go peacefully. Look, I'm gonna go to bed and think this was all a dream. Goodnight." Bobby said kissing Shia's forehead.

The next day, Shia was found pacing back and forth in the bedroom her and Dean shared. Bobby stood at the doorway watching her become stressed.

"So, last night wasn't a dream, huh?" Bobby asked coming inside of the to sit on the bed, Shia stood still and looked at him.

"No, it wasn't a dream. Daddy, what if I am-" Shia started to say but was cut off by alarm she set up for the pregnancy test she took to show her the results.

"Where did you get a test?"

"I...orbed to a gas station when we had our talk late last night."

"Your powers are growing." Bobby said.

"Yes, they are," Shia said with pregnancy test in hand, she stared at it for about a minute or two. She couldn't believe her eyes. Positive. That small, pink plus sign was gonna change her life...forever. "Oh My God."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

"You going to tell Dean?" Bobby asked sternly.

"Really? Was that your first thing to say?"

"Well, are you?"

"I'm tell him when the time is right. Okay?" Shia said grabbing her purse and shoes. "I'll be back soon, I just need to clear my head."

(Present Time)

"I don't know, man. Why don't we just chill out and think about this," Dean asks, as they drive down the dark highway. He had found his younger brother in a gas station bathroom with an upset look on his face and once back in the Impala, Sam had proceed to tell them about the vision he had.

"What's there to think about," Sam counters, rubbing his forehead.

Shia places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know, honey, Dean is right. Why do we all need to go to that roadhouse?" Shia asks him.

"It's another premonition. I know it. This is gonna happen and Ash can tell us where."

"Yeah, man, but-" Dean starts before Sam interrupts him.

"Plus, it could have some connection with the demon. My visions always do."

"That's my point. There's gonna be hunters there. I don't know if going in and announcing that you're some supernatural freak with a demonic connection is the best thing, okay?"

Sam stares at his brother. "So, I'm a freak now?"

"You've always been a freak," Dean tells him and slaps Sam's knee, as Dean slapped Sam's knee Shia slapped Dean's head.

"Babe, be nice to your brother." Shia said leaning back in her seat.

"Yeah, Okay, mom." Dean said, he didn't notice that when he said those words Shia flinched. Shia didn't mention to Dean about her being pregnant, she's about six weeks..she found that out when she payed a visit to Michael, him being a maternity doctor was just a bit ironic Shia thought.

They walk into the Roadhouse, filled with hunters and non-hunters. Loud music was playing from a jukebox in the corner. "Just can't stay away, huh," A girl with blond hair greets them, Shia noticed the way she looked at Dean, she took one glance at Dean and noticed he was giving the girl a small smile. 'What the hell is going on here?' Shia thought.

Dean chuckles, his gaze roaming over her. "Yeah, looks like it. How you doing, Jo?" 'Who is the hell is Jo, and why am I not just hearing about her?' Shia a thought again to herself.

"Where's Ash," Sam asks before Jo can answer.

"In his back room."

"Great." Sam quickly walks away.

"And I'm fine," Jo calls after them, then Jo noticed Shia beside Dean. "Oh, do you need somewhere to sit? First time customer, huh?"

"No, I'm his girlfriend." Shia said reaching for Dean's hand and linking their fingers, for a second Jo looked hurt.

"Oh...I didn't know that...since when?" Jo said as she shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

"A little over a year now." Shia smiled, she looked at Dean to see that he was giving Jo a sorry look. Not wanting to yell or start anything in front of people Shia walked off...only to have Dean follow her.

"Babe, let me explain." Dean said grabbing Shia's arm.

"Explain what? There is nothing to talk about."

"Look, I was going through something. Okay? I flirted with the girl and that's it. Nothing else went on." Dean explained to his girlfriend, Shia just rolled her eyes and walked the same direction Sam went. Dean sighed softly and walked behind her.

They reach a door with a sign that read 'Dr. Badass Is In' hanging on it. Sam knocks. "Dr. Badass, I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

The door opens and reveals Ash standing there, naked. "A beautiful girl...with Sam and Dean," Ash greets and Shia blushes slightly, then Dean gave Ash a hard look.

"Hey, Ash. Um, we need your help," Sam tells him.

"Hell, then...I guess I need my pants," Ash reasons and looks at Shia "You wanna help me find them?" Shia giggles for a second, Dean went beside her and pulled her towards him...letting Ash know that she was spoken for. Ash smiles for a minute and closed the door. Sam walked back to the bar. Shia started to walk off, but Dean grabbed her once again.

"So, you're not talking to me now?" Dean asked.

"There's nothing to talk about, so..." Shia said a walked off.

Ten minutes later, Ash was sitting with them at a table towards the back of the bar. Sam had drawn out a symbol he had seen in his vision and they silently waited while Ash looked it up. "So, I got a match. Let's see...it's the logo for the Blue Ridge bus lines - Guthrie, Oklahoma."

"Okay, do me a favor. Check Guthrie for any demonic signs or omens or anything like that," Sam tells him.

"You think the demon's there?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Why would you think that?"

"Just check it, all right," Dean demands, exchanging a look with Sam. One that was clearly warning him.

Ash nods, turning back to his computer. "No, sir. Nothing, no demon."

"All right, try something else for me. Search Guthrie for a house fire. It would be 1983, the fire's origin would be a baby's nursery, the night of the kid's six-month birthday," Sam asks and Ash stares at him.

"Okay, now that is just weird, man. Why the hell would I be lookin' for that?"

"Cause there's a PBR in it for ya," Sam replies, placing a bottle of beer in front of Ash.

"Give me fifteen minutes," Ash tells him and turns to Shia. "Wanna help?"

Shia turned to Dean and saw that his jaw was clenched, she didn't want to laugh or smile at how jealous Dean was getting. "Looks like I'll have to decline this time, maybe some other time." Shia said sending Ash a wink, making him blush a little. Okay, now Dean was a little pissed...he grabbed Shia by her arm and pulled her out of the roadhouse.

"What hell was that, huh?" Dean asked clearly upset.

"What was what?" Shia asked nonchalantly, she admits to herself that she was being a bit childish about this.

"I'm sorry about the whole Jo thing, what more do you want from me?!"

"It's not even about Jo! It's about how when I'm not around, how many girls you do flirt with or go after? Do you really get that fucking lonely, Dean? Do you hate how I spend more time with Bobby and Tanner? I've only stayed to help Tanner with her powers, and try to work on my own powers... because for some reason they're getting stronger and I don't know why. But that's beside the point. I can't trust you, Dean..." Shia said with her eyes turning pink with a hint of purple. Dean couldn't say a word, instead, he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around Shia.

"I'm so sorry, babe. I am. I just...I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I forgive you...again." Shia said giving Dean a small smile, Dean leaned in to give his girlfriend a kiss. The kiss was much more passionate than any kiss they ever shared. They stared at each other for a moment and walked off...together.

"And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night. And I'm getting closer than I ever through I might-" Dean sings and Sam lets out an annoyed sigh, Shia just sit in the backseat smiling to herself.

"Dean, seriously," Sam interrupts and Dean looks at him.

"I heard the song somewhere, I can't get it out of my head," Dean explains. Sam rolls his eyes. "So, Sammy, what do you got?"

"Andrew Gallagher - born in '83, like me. Lost his mother in a nursery fire exactly six months later, also like me," Sam answers.

"You think the demon killed his mom?"

"Sure looks like it."

"How'd you even know to look for this guy?"

"Every premonition I've had - if they're not about the demon, they're about the other kids the demon visited. Like Max Miller, remember him?"

"From what you boys told me Max Miller was a few fries short of a happy meal," Shia reminds him with Dean nodding in agreement.

"The point is, he was killing people and I was having the same type of visions about him. Now it could be happening all over again with this Gallagher guy," Sam counters.

"Where do we find him then?" Shia asked.

"I don't know. No current address, no current employment. He still owes money on all his bills - phone, credit, utilities."

"Collection agency flags," Dean asks.

"Not in the system."

"There's no way they just let him not pay his bills," Shia comments and Sam shrugs.

"Seems like it. There's a work address from his last W-2, about a year ago. Let's start there," Sam tells him. Shia sighs and tries to get comfortable, she was starting to get nauseous again. Shia catches Dean's gaze in the rearview mirror and sees the concern. She gives him a reassuring smile, even though she was just as concern about Sam.

They're sitting in the diner with Tracy, Andy's latest boss. She was around Sam's age with short blonde hair. And she had a bubbly personality as she poured three cups of coffee. "You won't get anything out of Andy. I'm sorry, but they never do."

"They," Sam asks.

"You're debt collectors, right? Once in a while, they come by. I don't know what Andy says to them, but they never come back."

"Actually, we're lawyers, representing his great aunt Lita. She passed, God rest her soul, but left Andy a sizable estate," Dean lies.

"Yeah. So, are you a friend of his," Sam asks Tracy.

"I used to be, yeah. I don't see much of Andy anymore," Tracy answers as another worker walks over to the table and takes a seat, causing Shia to raise an eyebrow.

"Andy? Andy kicks ass," the worker tells them. He had short dark brown hair and had a white apron tied around his waist.

"Oh really," Shia disbelievingly asks.

"Yeah! Andy can get you into anything. He even got me backstage at Aerosmith once. It was beautiful."

"Uh huh. How about busing a table or two, Webber," Tracy asks him.

"Yeah, you bet, boss," Webber says, standing up.

Tracy watches as he walks away, looks at him then turns to them. "Look, if you wanna find him, try Orchard Street. Just look for a van with a Barbarian queen painted on the side."

"A Barbarian queen," Dean disbelievingly asks Tracy and she nods.

"She's riding a polar bear. It's kind of hard to miss."

"I'm sorry, I'm starting to like this dude. That van is sweet," Dean comments as they sit in the Impala across the street from Andy's van and Shia slightly rolls her eyes, as much as she hated to admit it...she thought the van was pretty sweet. It was a dark blue van with a Barbarian queen riding a polar bear painted on the side.

"And you're the only person who thinks that, Dean," Shia replies lying to herself.. She notices the unhappy look on Sam's face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sam replies.

Shia sends Dean a look, then places a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam, you look like you're trying to figure out all the problems in world. So spill."

"This Andrew Gallagher - he's the second guy like this we've found. The demon came to them when they were kids, now they're killing people."

"But this guy could be innocent."

"My visions haven't been wrong yet."

"There's a first time for everything." Shia tells him.

"It doesn't matter. I'm one of them."

"No, you're not," Dean sternly tells him.

"Dean, the demon said he had plans for me and children like me." Sam says.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, maybe this is his plan, maybe we're all a bunch of psychic freaks! Maybe we're all supposed to be-"

"What, killers?"

"Yeah."

"You are not a murderer, Sam. No matter what the demon wants or what it says," Shia tells him and Sam looks at her.

"Really, Shia? Last I checked, I kill all kind of things."

"Well, those things were askin' for it. There's a difference," Dean comments. He turns back to look out the window as a man wearing pajamas and a bathroom walks out of an apartment building.

"Got him." They watch as Andy turns and waves at a blonde woman, who was leaning out a window, before continuing down the sidewalk. He talks to a man and the man hands Andy his coffee. Andy then talks to an older African-American man wearing a suit and they shake hands. "That's him. That older guy, that's him. That's the shooter."

"Well, you keep on him, we'll stick with Andy. Go."

Sam climbs out of the Impala and Shia does the same. Sam opens the door and Shia climbs into the front seat. Noticing Andy drive off, Dean starts the Impala and follows him. Shia hits his arm and when he glances at her, she smiles in response. Dean grabs Shia's hand and kissed it.

"I love you." Dean said.

"That's random." Shia said smiling at him. "I love you too Dean."

"Did you ever find out why you have been sick all the time?" Dean asked as he keeps his eyes on the road. Shia froze for a moment. 'Should I tell him?' She thought to herself.

"Um, no, but most likely it's the stomach bug or something." Shia lies looking out the window. Dean nods as him and Shia sit in comfortable silence.

They follow Andy until he pulls into a back alley. Dean grabs his gun and hides it in his jacket as Andy gets out of his van. Shia tenses when Andy walks over to them. "Hey," Andy greets, leaning in the window and Shia hesitantly smiles.

"Hey," Dean replies.

"This is a cheery ride."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Man, you know, '67 - Impala's best year, if you ask me. This is a serious classic."

"Yeah, I just rebuilt her, too. Can't let a car like this one go."

"Damn straight. Hey, can I have it?"

"Sure, man," Dean cheerfully answers, climbing out of the Impala.

Shia stares at him. "Dean, what are you doing," she exclaims. Andy turns to her and she scoffs. "Please." The second she slams the door shut, Andy drives off. She walks over to Dean and slaps his arm. "What the hell?!"

"I don't know!"

Dean takes off down the street and she struggles to keep up with him. "Where are we going?"

"To find my car!" Dean's phone suddenly rings and he answers, giving Shia a chance to catch up. "I know! He just sort of asked me for it and then I let him take it. He full on Obi Wan'd me! It's mind control, man! Sam?"

Shia sighs as they finally find the Impala parked in an alley. She had tried comforting Sam, but nothing seemed to work. "Thank God," Dean says, walking over to the Impala. He runs his hands over the hood. "I'm sorry, baby. I'll never leave you again." He looks inside and finds the keys in the ignition. "At least he left the keys in it."

"Yeah, Dean, cause that's the most important thing," Shia sarcastically says. "He's a real Samaritan."

"Well, it looks like he can't work his mojo just by twitchin' his nose. He's gotta use verbal commands," Dean says..

"The doctor had just gotten off his cell phone when he stepped in front of that bus. Andy must have called him or something," Sam comments.

"I don't know, maybe."

"Beg your pardon."

"I just don't know if he's our guy, Sam."

"Dean, you had O.J. convicted before he got out of his write Bronco and you have doubts about this?"

"He just doesn't seem like the stone-cold killer type, that's all. And O.J. was guilty!"

"Either way, how are we gonna track this guy down?"

"It shouldn't be that hard to find him, Sam," Shia says, leaning against the Impala. "You do realize I am a Demi God. I could probably sense him or something."

"Since when you could do that?" Dean asked leaning beside her.

"Since..." Shia said but froze, her powers started growing when she got pregnant. 'How come I didn't realize that before?' Shia thought to herself.

"Hello? Babe? Earth to Shia." Dean said waving his hand in front of Shia's face. "Since when?"

"About a month almost two. Let's just find Andy, Okay?" Shia wanted to avoid the whole conversation about her powers growing...when she knew deep down that she was sharing powers with herself and the baby.

It only takes them twenty minutes to find Andy's van, which was parked behind a convenient store, which was the exact place the had last seen him. "Not exactly an inconspicuous ride. Let's have a look," Dean comments, pulling a crowbar from his jacket. He jimmies the door and it pops open. Shia raises an eyebrow at the disco ball, the different blankets, and the posters covering the inside of the van. "Oh, come on. This is…this is magnificent, that's what this. Not exactly a serial killer's lair, though. There's no little clown paintings on the walls or scissors stuck in victims' photos. I like the tiger."

"Hegel? Kant? Wittgenstein? That's some pretty heavy reading," Sam counters, picking up the books.

"Yeah, and, uh, Moby Dick's bong," Dean says, picking up the large bong.

Shia sift through the blankets. "What are you doing," Sam asks. She laughs and walks closer. She reaches in and picks up a small, empty plastic bag. "Shia!"

"What," Shia asks, tossing the bag back in the van. "It's not like he has any anyway, besides I'm getting this for Dean. I quit the smoking game, remember?" Dean watches as Sam and Shia stare at each other. Sam is the one who turns away first, leading her to smirk in amusement.

When the gas station burger wrapper hits her head, Shia glares at Dean, who misses it. She picks it up and tosses it back at him. "You know, one day, I'd love to just sit down and eat something that I didn't have to microwave in a mini-mart," Dean says, throwing the wrapper back at her.

"And one day I would like it if you didn't throw your garbage at me," Shia retorts to which only Dean laughs.

"I'm sorry, babe."

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah." Shia says trying to get comfortable in the back seat.

"What I don't get his motive," Sam comments, not looking up from a file he was looking through. "I mean, the doctor was squeaky clean. Why would Andy waste him?"

"If it is Andy," Dean tells him.

"Dude, enough. The doctor was mind-controlled in front of a bus. Andy just happens to have the power of mind control. You do the math."

"I just don't think the guy's got it in him, that's all."

"Well, how the hell would you know? I mean, why are you bending over backwards, defending him?"

"Cause you're not right about this."

"About Andy?"

"Guys, hush up," Shia tells them. She had spotted Andy walking towards them.

"Hey," Andy says, slapping his hands down on the driver's side door. "You think I haven't seen you three? Why are you following me?"

The three of them exchange a look. "Well, we're lawyers. See, a relative of yours has passed away-" Sam starts.

"Tell the truth!"

"That's what I'm-"

"We hunt demons," Dean blurts out and Shia looks at him, Andy powers didn't really work on her but...it does seem like an opportunity to spill the truth.

"What," Andy disbelievingly asks.

"We kill things that regular people only seen in horror movies," Shia blurts out going along with her plan.

"Demons, spirits - things your worst nightmare wouldn't even touch," Dean continues. "Sam here, he's my brother. And Shia's my girlfriend."

"Dean, shut up," Sam tells him.

"I'm trying to. He's psychic. Kind of like you. Well, not really like you, but see, he thinks you're a murderer and he's afraid that he's gonna become one himself, cause you're all part of something that's terrible and I hope to hell that he's wrong, but I'm starting to get a little scared that he might be right."

"And I'm a Demi God. I'm also 6 and half weeks pregnant," Shia began to say, Dean and Sam both turned to look at her. "I didn't tell the boys right away because...I just didn't want Dean to leave me...and I didn't want Sam to think less of me in a certain way." Sam looked away, but Dean just stared at her. 'How could see hide this from me?' Dean thought, in all honesty he was hurt.

"Okay, you know what? Just leave me alone," Andy tells them.

"Okay," Dean brightly replies and when Andy walks away he puts his head in his hands.

Sam gets out of the Impala and follows Andy. Shia climbs out. She wasn't gonna let Sam do this on his own. "What are you doing? Look, I said leave me alone! Get out of here! Just start driving and never stop!" Shia turns to walk back to the Impala trying to make it believable that Andy's power worked on her.

"Doesn't seem to work on me, Andy," Sam counters, stepping towards him.

"What?"

"You can make people do things, can't you? You can tell them what to think."

"That's crazy."

"It all started about a year ago, didn't it? After you turned twenty two. Little stuff at first, then you got better at controlling it."

"How did you know all this?"

"Cause the same thing happened to me, Andy. My mom died in a fire too. I have abilities too. You see, we're connected, you and me."

"You know what, just get out of here, all right?"

"Why'd you tell the doctor to walk in front of a bus?"

A stunned look appears on Andy's face. "What?"

Sam winces as images start to flash through his mind. "Why did you kill him?"

"I didn't!"

Sam grabs his head in pain and doubles over. Shia quickly walks over to him as Dean leaps out of the Impala and runs over. "Sam," Shia asks, placing a comforting hand on his back.

"I didn't do anything to him," Andy quickly tells him.

"A woman - a woman burning alive," Sam pants, looking up at Andy.

"Did you see anything else," Shia asks him.

"A gas station - a woman's gonna kill herself."

"What does he mean, 'going to?' What is he-" Andy asks.

"Shut up," Dean angrily interrupts.

"She gets triggered by a call on her cell," Sam continues.

Dean grabs his arm and helps Sam sit up. "When?"

"I don't know. But as long as we keep out eyes on this son of a bitch, he can't hurt her."

"I didn't hurt anybody," Andy shouts.

"Yeah, not yet," Sam counters as a fire truck drives by. "Go!" Shia watches as Dean runs over to the Impala and drives off. Andy starts to leave but stops at Sam's glare. "No, not you. You're staying here with me."

Shia grabs an empty crate and sits down, she started feeling a little sick again. 'Why do they call it morning sickness when it last all through the day?' Shia thought to herself. Remembering that she was there, Sam shoots her a concerned look. She smiles back. Andy opens his mouth, then closes it after Sam protectively steps in front of her. She rolls her eyes but smiles nonetheless.

After five minutes of a tense silence, Sam's cell phone rings. Keeping his gaze on Andy, he pulls it out and answers. "Yeah?" He tightens his grip in his phone. "When? I don't know, all right? I can't control 'em. I don't know what the hell is going on. That doesn't make any sense." Shia frowns as he hangs up. "You can control people."

"You get premonitions about people about to die," Andy counters. Sam reluctantly nods. "That's impossible."

"People would say the same about you," Shia comments, patting Sam's leg in reassurance.

"Death visions?"

"Yeah," Sam replies.

"Dude, that sucks. When I got my mind thing, it was like a gift, you know? It was like I won the lotto."

"But you still live in a van. I don't get it. I mean you could have anything you ever wanted."

"I've got everything I need."

Sam studies the man standing a few feet away from him. "So, you're really not a killer, huh?"

"Told ya. I'm always right," Shia mutters. Sam shoots her a glare while Andy laughs and nods in agreement.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Andy says.

"That's good. It means there's hope for the both of us," Sam replies.

The roar of the Impala signals an arrival. Shia glances over her shoulder to see Dean climb out. "Victim's names was Holly Beckett," Dean announces climbing out and walking over to them. "Forty-one, single."

"Who is she," Sam asks Andy.

"Never heard of her," Andy answers.

"I called Ash on the way over here," Dean begins. "He came up with a little something. Apparently, Holly Beckett gave birth when she was eighteen years old, back in 1983. Same day you were born, Andy."

"Andy, were you adopted," Sam asks him.

Andy shrugs. "Well, yeah."

Shia glares at him and gets up. "And you didn't think to mention that little fact?"

"Oh like you fail to mention that you're pregnant?" Dean mutters, hoping that Shia didn't hear him but she did. Shia just turned around to give Dean a warning look.

"It never really came up. I mean, I never knew my birth parents. And, like you said, my adopted mom died when I was a baby. Do you think this Holly woman could actually be-"

"I don't know," Dean interrupts. "I tried to get a copy of the birth records, but they're hard copy only. Sealed in the county office."

"Well, screw that."

"I probably shouldn't have let you kids in here," a security guard says as Dean, Sam, and Shia search through birth records. Each of them had a small stack in front of them in the dark office. It was small with one table in the middle with a long table with a fax machine/copier/printer and a computer against the wall.

"No, it'll all be fine, all right," Andy replies, putting a hand on the security guard's back. "Just go get a cup of coffee, all right? These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"Awesome," Dean comments.

Shia rolls her eyes and opens another folder. After scanning the first page, she smiles. "Found it." The three men look at her, waiting. "Um, Holly Beckett was indeed you biological mother, Andy."

"Does anyone have a Vicodin," Andy asks, stunned.

"Well, I don't know if this will help, but Dr. Jennings was her doctor and oversaw the adoption. You have a connection to each of them."

"Yeah, but I didn't kill 'em."

"We believe you," Dean comments and Sam nods in agreement. "But, uh, who did?"

"Well, according to this….you have a twin," Shia answers. Andy stares at her in stunned silence. She shoves the file at Sam. "Go look up stuff, Sam." He takes the file and walks over to the computer.

"Someone is moody, probably the baby...that I just found out about." Dean mutters bitterly.

"Dean...not now." Shia said sternly with an grave expression.

"When are we gonna talk about it, huh? You're pregnant and I'm gonna be a dad! You've known for a while now and you're just not telling me. You say you can't trust me...well...I can't trust you."

"Dean." Sam scolded his brother. Shia did hide something big from them for a bit, she might be a Demi God but she still have feelings...she's still somewhat human.

"No...he's right." Shia said softly with tears threatening to leave her eyes. Silence fell over the four people in the room for a couple of minutes.

"I have….an evil twin," Andy says in disbelief for the umpteenth time. Shia glances at him. She understood his shock, but was annoyed that he had said it over and over while they were waiting for Sam to find out who Andy's twin was. Dean had helped speed up the process by doing some research.

"Holly put you and your brother up for adoption," Sam says, sitting down next to Shia. "You went to the Gallagher family, obviously. And your brother went to the Weems family from upstate."

Dean puts a hand on Andy's shoulder. "Andy, how you doing," he asks. "Still with us?"

"Um, what was my brother's name," Andy asks, not answering Dean's question. He runs a hand through his hair, trying to find something to do to give him some kind of comfort.

Sam scans the page. "Here, um, Ansem Weems." Andy shakes his head, moving his gaze to the ground. "He's got a local address."

Andy looks up. "Wait, he lives here?"

Noise comes from the fax machine. "Let's get a look at him," Dean comments, standing up from where he was sitting by the computer. "There's a picture coming over from the DMW right now." He grabs the paper. Shia raises an eyebrow when a shocked look appears on Dean's face. "I hate to kick you while you-"

Shia grabs the paper out of his hand. "Holy shit," she exclaims.

"What," Andy asks, looking between them. Shia hands him the paper. The picture on the paper was of the busboy they had met earlier that day. Dean pushes Shia and she looks at him. He glares at her and she rolls her eyes. Gosh, they can be the most childish couple at times.

"All right, Andy. Tell us everything you know about this guy," Sam says as the Impala speeds down the road. They were trying to find Webber and decided to start at the address listed on his driver's license.

"Webber shows up one day, eight months ago, acting like he's my best friend in the world. Kind of weird, like, trying too hard, you know," Andy answers from where he sat in the backseat next to Shia.

Shia frowns. Nothing about Webber made sense. "He probably knew that you guys were twins, but why would he change his name?"

"No clue."

Sam groans in pain. He grabs his head as pain erupts. "Sam," Dean asks, glancing at his younger brother. "Sam?"

Shia leans forward. "Sam," she asks, putting a hand on his back. It was obvious that he was having a vision. Dean pulls the Impala off the road. She helplessly watches as Dean climbs out and runs over to the passenger side. He opens the door and Sam falls into his arms. "Sam!"

Shia rubs Sam's back, trying to give him some form of comfort. His vision had been about Webber attacking, Tracy, the woman they had meet at the diner. They were parked close enough for Sam to go confront Webber. Sam and Dean were going through the weapons cash in the trunk. "You guys should stay back," Sam tells him.

"No argument here. I've had my head screwed with enough for one day," Dean replies and Shia laughs, Dean glanced at her. One look at her smiling or laughing makes Dean forget why he was even mad in the first place.

"I'm coming with you," Andy says.

"Andy-" Sam starts.

"Look, if it's Tracy out there, then I'm coming."

Sam looks to Dean and Shia for help, they both simply shrug. He sighs. "Okay," Sam reluctantly says. He didn't want Andy coming with him, but there was nothing he could do.

Shia smiles at Sam and leans against the Impala, watching as they walk off. She turns to Dean, who slams the trunk shut. "What's your plan?"

"Hide in the bushes," Dean replies. She nods and starts to follow him. "You're not coming."

"I'm not gonna stay out here helplessly,Dean," Shia counters.

"You're pregnant. I don't want anything happening to you or the kid."

"We will be okay, I'm a Demi God, remember?"

Dean stares at Shia for a moment. "Alright, fine. Follow me."

She sighs and together they walk over to some bushes. From their point they could barely make out the figures of Sam, Andy, and Webber. A woman stood on the edge of the dam. Dean was watching through the scope of his rifle. Suddenly, he sits up and aims the rifle at her. "Dean, what are you doing?" The look in his eyes showed that he was trying to fight against whatever force was pushing him to aim the gun at her. "Dean, you have to fight it. I know you don't want to do this." His finger hovers over the trigger and as he gets ready to pull it, a shot rings out. Dean lowers the rifle and Shia lets out a sigh of relief, Dean stared at her. At first Shia didn't understand to why he was staring until she looked around herself. She was inside a force field, or shield, and unknowingly her eyes were purple. As the shield unformed they all could see where that power was coming from...Shia's stomach.

The three of them are watching as Andy talks with the officers that had arrived at the dam. Webber's body had been taken away. Tracy sat in the back of an ambulance. "Look at him. He's getting better at it," Sam comments. They watch as Andy looks at Tracy, who turns away in response.

Andy sighs and walks over to them. "She won't even look at me."

"Yeah, she's pretty shaken up."

"No, it's - this is different. I never used my mind thing on her before -before last night. She's scared of me now."

"Andy, I hate to do this, but, we have to get out of here." Sam hands Andy a piece of paper. "Here, I wrote down my cell. You don't have to be alone in this, all right? If anything comes up, you call me up."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"You be good, Andy. Or we'll be back," Dean answers and they walk towards the Impala.

"Looks like I was right," Sam comments and Shia looks at him.

"Right about what," Shia asks.

"Andy. He's a killer, after all."

"No, he's a hero. He saved his girlfriend's life, he saved Shia and our baby's life," Dean counters.

"Wait. He wasn't gonna kill Shia and the kid if he wanted to. She was protected by a force field. Bottom line, last night, he wasted somebody."

"Yeah, but he's not a foaming-at-the-mouth psycho. He was pushed into that."

"Webber was pushed in his own way too, Dean. Max Miller was pushed. Hell, I was pushed by Jessica's death."

"What's your point, Sam?"

"Right circumstances, everyone's capable of murder. Everyone. Maybe that's what the demon's doing - pushing us, finding ways to break us."

"Sam, we don't know what the demon wants, okay? Quit worrying about it."

"You know, I heard you before, Dean. When Andy made you tell the truth. You're just as scared of this as I am."

"That was mind control! It's like being Roofie'd, man, that doesn't count."

"What?"

"No, I'm calling a do-over," Dean tells him. Shia laughs.

"How old are you again," Shia amusingly asks him.

"Doesn't matter. We've just gotta keep doing what we're doing, find that evil son of a bitch and kill it."

"Yeah. I guess," Sam reluctantly says as Dean's phone rings and he answers it.

"Hello? Ellen? What's going on? Yeah, we'll be right there."

The three of them are quietly sitting at the bar in the Roadhouse, having just arrived there. Sam sat Shia. Shia comfortingly pats Sam's thigh, letting him know that she was there for him. "Jo? Go pull up another case of beer," Ellen tells Jo.

"Mom-" Jo begins.

"Now. Please," Ellen asks. She waits until Jo is gone before rounding on them. "So, you wanna tell me about this last hunt of yours?"

"No. Not really," Dean replies. Ellen glares at him. "No offense, just...it's kind of a family thing."

"She's not family." Ellen says pointing at Shia.

"Well, she's not legally, but she will be. We've know her longer." Dean says throwing his arm around his girlfriend.

Ellen pulls out a pile of papers and sits it on the bar. "I got this stuff from Ash. Andrew Gallagher's house burnt down on his six-month birthday, just like your house. You think it was the demon both times, don't you? You think it went after Gallagher's family?"

"Yeah, we think so," Sam answers.

"Sam," Dean warns.

"Why," Ellen asks.

"None of your business." Dean says.

Ellen glares at Dean. "You mind your tone with me, boy. This isn't just your war, this is war. Now, something big and bad is coming and it's coming fast, and their side holds all the cards. Now, at best, all we've got is us, together. No secrets or half-truths here."

"There are people out there, like Andrew Gallagher, like me. And, um, we all have some kind of ability," Sam says after a moment.

"Ability?"

"Yeah, a psychic ability. Me...I have visions...premonitions. I don't know, it's different for everybody. The demon said he had plans for people like us. He also have plans for Shia, she's a Demi God."

"No way," Ellen said. Shia rolled her eyes, then she change her eye color to her blazing white, blue color, only using her power she made everything around her shake for a couple of seconds and then stopped.

"Wow, that was hot." Ash said with amazement.

"What kind of plans?" Ellen said getting serious.

"We don't really know for sure."

"These people out there, these psychics - are they dangerous?"

"No. Not all of them," Dean sternly says.

"But some are. Some are very dangerous," Sam counters.

"Okay, how many of 'em are we looking at," Ellen asks them.

"We've been able to track a clear pattern so far. They've all had house fires on the night of the kid's six-month birthday," Dean answers.

"That's not true," Shia comments for the first time and they look at her. "Ansem Weems, uh, Webber, there was no kind of house fire. In fact, there was nothing out of the ordinary in his files."

"Which breaks the pattern. So, if there's any others like him, there'll be nothing in the system. No way to track 'em all down," Ellen reasons.

"And so, who knows how many of 'em are really out there," Dean comments.

"Jo, honey," Ellen calls.

"Yeah," Jo replies, looking up from wiping one of the empty tables.

"You better break out the whiskey instead."

Shia moves the bag that her and Dean shares then sits on the bed in the back room that Ellen had said they could stay in. She leans against the wall and closes her eyes. It was small with two twin beds pressed against the opposite walls. The door to the room opens and she looks to see Sam enter. "Are you okay," he asks, closing the door behind him.

"I'm gonna be saying this a lot. Why do they call it morning sickness when I'm sick through out the whole day?"

"Did you go to a maternity doctor?" Sam asks sitting down beside Shia.

"Yeah, I went about three days after I found out. Around the same time you guys went to visit your mom's grave. I'm about six to seven weeks in." Shia tells him, she lifts up shirt to show her stomach. Sam smiles and rubs her belly, she's not showing but the thought that there's a little child in there makes him smile.

"Why didn't tell us right away?"

"I was afraid of the reactions. I was scared you'd hate me, and then Dean leaves me. I mean look at the way he's acting now. He's out there most likely flirting with Jo and drinking. I want to give him space. He's probably thinking that the Demon wants me and our baby killed, that's what keeps going through my head." Sam takes Shia's hand and kissed it, he sends her a loving smile.

"I could never hate you. You're pregnant with my niece or nephew, Dean's kid. Dean will eventually let the fact that's he's gonna be a dad sink in. And as for that Demon theory...he will not hurt you or the baby! We won't let that happen ever."

She nods. "Sam, I think the baby has powers. Did you see that shield around me when Dean had that gun pointed at me?"

"Yeah, I saw that. We can look into it if you want. Ask your brothers what they think. By the way, who's your doctor?"

"Michael, my brother. It was funny, the guy didn't know whether to be happy or wanting kick Dean's ass. I guess it's a brother thing," Shia says, Sam sends her a smile and then yawns. "Go to bed. You look tired." Sam then nodded, went to go change in his night clothes. Afterwards he was in his bed asleep.

A few hours later, Dean stumbles into the room. He was drunk, not as drunk as he would've like to have been through thanks to Ellen cutting him off.

"Dean, what the hell?" Shia says getting up from the bed her and would have to share.

"Hey baby." Dean says, he kissed Shia once and then got on his knees lifted up her shirt and kissed her belly. "Hey baby number two."

"Dean...you're drunk."

"And you're pregnant. I'm gonna be a dad."

"Yeah, I know. Look, how about you get ready for bed? Then we'll cuddle and talk about the baby. Like you said, we'd have to talk about it sometime." Dean nodded as he went to go change in his bed time clothes, which was just him in his boxer briefs. They cuddled on the bed, talking about the baby and how things will work out. Slowly they both fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22: No Exit (2x06)

Shia rolls her eyes as Sam puts the bag her and Dean share in the trunk of the Impala. She did think that it was sweet that he insisted on carrying her bags, at the same time Shia thought that just because she's pregnant doesn't mean she can't handle her own things. "Los Angeles, California," Dean states.

Shia leans against the Impala and raises an eyebrow. "L.A.?"

"A young girl has been kidnapped by an evil cult." Dean says walking over to Shia grabbing her waist and kissing her softly.

"She got a name?"

"Katie Holmes." Sam laughs. And Shia shakes her head.

Yelling from the Roadhouse reaches them. They turn to look at the bar. "Of course, on the other hand - cat fight."

"You know, I think we should stay out here and let them argue since it seems to be a whole mother/daughter issue," Shia says not really wanting to go inside. She stares in disbelief as Dean walks to the bar. Sam shrugs and follows after his brother. "Great."

Shia slips in behind Dean and stands next to him, Dean glanced at her and wrapped his arm around her. The door slams shut causing Ellen and Jo to look at them. "Guys, bad time," Ellen says.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam replies.

"Yeah, we rarely drink before ten, anyway," Dean finishes and Shia turns to walk out of the building.

"Wait. I wanna know what they think about this," Jo states.

"I don't care what they think," Ellen tells her as a family enters the Roadhouse.

Shia smiles at the bright yellow shirts they're wearing with 'Nebraska is for Lovers' written across the chest. "Are you guys open," the man holding a young child asks.

"No!" "Yes!"

"We'll just check out the Arby's down the road."

Shia nods agreement as the family walks out. She taps Sam's arm and motions to the door. "Let's go get some cheddar roast beef sandwiches. I think baby Winchester is wanting something to eat," Shia tells Dean and Sam as the phone rings and Jo walks over to them.

Jo hands Dean a file. "Three weeks ago, a young girl disappears from a Philadelphia apartment." Dean stares at the file. "Take it, it won't bite."

"No, but your mom might," Dean counters. An annoyed look appears on Jo's face and he reluctantly takes it. Sam looks over Dean's shoulder as he flips through the file. Newspaper clippings and pictures printed off line were in it.

"And this girl wasn't the first. Over the past eighty years, six women have vanished - all from the same building, all young blondes. Only happens every decade or two, so cops never eyeball the pattern. So, we're either dealing with one very old serial killer or-"

"Who put this together? Ash?"

"I did it myself."

"Hmm..."

"I've got admit, we've hit the road for a lot less," Sam comments. Shia stares at him. She didn't want to take a case.

Ellen walks back over to them. "Good. If you like the case so much, you take it."

"Mom!"

"Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough. I won't loose you too. I just won't."

"I feel kind of bad, snaking Jo's case," Sam says, opening the door and they enter the apartment. "I didn't even want the damn case." Shia mutters to herself. The building was situated in downtown Philadelphia. From what Shia had read in the file, the building had been some old warehouse built in the twenties before being converted into apartments.

"Yeah, maybe she put together a good file. But could you see her out here, working one of these things? I don't think so," Dean replies. Shia rolls her eyes and walks over to a light switch, frowning when she sees something. "Getting anything."

"Um, we have extremely pissed off ghost," Shia comments and touches the black goo coming from the light switch. "I've seen a lot of screwed up stuff, but I've only seen ectoplasm a few times."

"All right, let's find this badass before he snags anymore girls," Dean tells them and they exit the apartment. Hearing voice walking towards them, they hide behind a corner. Shia frowns as they voice grow closer. The three of them step out of the hiding space just as Jo and the building's superintendent come walking around the corner. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"There you are, honey," Jo replies and walks over to them, squeezing in between Shia and Dean. Shia stumbles and Sam steadies her by placing a hand on her back. Jo wraps an arm around Dean's waist. "This is my boyfriend, Dean, that's his brother Dean. Oh, and the friend of the family, Shia."

"Good to meet you. Quite a gal you've got here," the superintendent responds, shaking Dean's hand.

"Oh, yeah, she's a pistol," Dean sarcastically says, glancing at Shia for a second. Shia obviously was a little ticked off.

"So, did you already check out the apartment," Jo asks. Dean stares in response. "The one for rent?"

"Yeah, yes. Love it. Great flow."

"How'd you get in," the superintendent asks.

"It was open."

"Now, Ed, when did the last tenant move out," Jo asks the super.

"Oh, about a month ago. Cut and run, too. Stiffed me for the rent."

"Well, her loss, our gain. Cause if Dean-o loves it, that's good enough for me. We'll take it," Jo says.

"Oh, sweetie," Dean replies, hitting Jo on the back.

A fake smile appears on Jo's face. She pulls out a wad of cash from her pocket and holds it out to the superintendent. "We'll take it."

"Okay," the superintendent replies, stunned. He takes the money and gives Jo a key before walking away. Jo grins at them. Shia rolls her eyes and walks past Jo.

"I'll flip you for the sofa," Jo comments as the four of them sit in the apartment. Jo was going through her research while Dean and Sam loaded and cleaned the guns. Shia didn't want to be around Jo so she walked into the spare bedroom.

"Does your mother even know you're here," Dean asks the blonde.

"I told her I was going to Vegas."

"You think she's gonna buy that?"

"I'm not an idiot. I got Ash to lay a credit card trail all the way to the casinos."

"You shouldn't lie like that to your mother, Jo, and you shouldn't be here," Shia comments, walking out of the bedroom.

"Well, I am. And shouldn't you be doing something besides walking in and out of the bedroom. You could be working on the case, ya know," Jo counters.

"Where'd you get all that money from, anyways," Sam asks before Shia has a chance to respond or punch Jo in the throat.

"Working at the Roadhouse," Jo answers.

"Hunters don't tip that well," Dean replies.

"Well, they aren't that good at poker, either."

Dean's phone rings and Shia looks over to him. "Yeah. Oh, hi, Ellen." She watches as Jo walks over to him and they argue. "I haven't seen her. Yeah, I'm sure. Absolutely." Dean hangs up and she sees Jo give him a bright smile. Shia was fed up, she grabbed her jacket and walked out of the apartment building slamming to door. She walked down the street, she knew someone was following her and when she turned around she didn't expect to see...the Demon.

"Hey." The Demon casually says, walking towards Shia.

"What the hell do you want?" Shia counters.

"Just checking up on you and that precious baby inside of you." At that moment Shia got defensive, her eyes turned blue, white and she was ready to fight. "Oh calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. I could never do that, you mean too much to me."

"What do you want from me?"

"Can't tell you that now, it's a surprise." The Demon said right before disappearing. Shia was scared, not for herself but scared for her baby. Not wasting time, Shia orbed back into the apartment and walked right into the bathroom. Shia locked the door and started to cry.

"Babe? Shia? Come on now. Come out." Dean said as he knocked on the door.

"Dean, go away." Shia said softly but loud enough for Dean to hear her.

"You don't mean that. Did I do something? Did I say something wrong?"

"No. I just want to be left alone. Just go." Dean wanted to say something else back to her, but decided not to.

Moments later Shia decided to wipe her face and walk out of the bathroom. As she walked out of the restroom, she could see Dean sitting on the bed.

"Dean, I don't want to talk." Shia said sternly as she grabbed her duffel bag and got out some pain medicine for the headache she felt coming.

"I'm not asking you to talk, I'm just making sure if you were okay." Dean getting up to stand beside his pregnant girlfriend. "Are ya feeling moody or something? Ya know...hormones making ya upset."

"No, Dean," Shia said smiling to herself at how awkward Dean is making this conversation. "I'm fine."

Dean didn't argue, he just nodded. "You want to help us on this case or what?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

A few hours later, Shia is sitting next to Sam at the small dining room looking over the research that Jo had done about the building and missing girls. Shia kept glancing at the small knife that Jo was twirling. "This place was built in 1924. It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago," Jo explains from where she was sitting across from Shia.

"Yeah? What was here before 1924," Dean asks, pacing around the dining room/living room.

"Nothing. Empty field."

"So, most likely scenario - someone died bloody in the building and now he's back and raising hell," Sam comments and Shia frowns, looking at the picture of the empty field.

"I already checked. In the past eighty-two years, zero violent deaths, unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor."

"What about police reports or county death records," Shia asks Jo.

"Obituaries, mortuary reports, and seven other sources. I do know what I'm doing," Jo coldly tells the older woman.

"I think the jury's still out on that one," Dean replies. "Could you put the knife down?" Jo reluctantly puts the knife down on the table.

"Okay. So, it's something else, then. Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought the spirit with it," Sam says.

"We've gotta scan the whole building. Whatever we can get to, right," Jo asks.

"Right. So, you and me - we'll take the top two floors. Sam'll take the bottom two floors," Dean tells them.

"Wait. You and Jo?" Shia asked raising her eyebrow a little. Dean just sent her a smirk as he walked over to give Shia a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Only for her safety." Dean whispers in Shia's ear.

"We'd move faster if we split up," Jo says a little annoyed with the couple sitting in front of her. Shia lets out a sigh, she thought Jo was so stubborn.

"Oh, this isn't negotiable." Dean turns back to Shia. "You gonna be okay alone, baby?"

"Of course. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine," Shia says with hand on her flat stomach, smirking at him. Dean didn't say anything but kissed her once more.

"Teresa Ellis apartment 2F," Dean announces walking back into the apartment. He had gone to gather information on the girl that had disappeared the night before while the rest of them went over the research again. He plops down in a chair next to Shia. "Her boyfriend reported her missing around dawn."

"And her apartment," Jo asks him.

"Cracks all over the plaster - walls, ceiling. There's ectoplasm too."

"Between that and that tuft of hair, I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls," Sam comments.

"Yeah, but who is it? The building's history is totally clean."

"What about the building next door," Shia asks and places a photo of an empty lot on top. "There are bars on the windows of the building that was next door, so yeah, we're next to a building that used to house Philly's worst criminals."

Dean glanced at Shia. "Anything happen while I was gone? You feeling okay?"

"Nothing, but the usual morning sickness. I'm fine." Shia answers as Jo walks back over.

"Okay," Jo says, sitting down at the table. "Moyamensing Prison - built in 1835, torn down in 1963. And get this - they used to execute people by hanging them in the empty field next door."

"Well, then we need a list of all the people executed there," Sam tells her.

"Ash is already on it."

Ten minutes later, they're crowded around Sam's computer, watching as he scrolls through a long list of names. "157 names," Sam asks, glancing at Jo.

"We've got to narrow that down," Dean tells him. "Or else we're gonna be digging up a hell of a lot of stiffs."

"Herman Webster Mudgett?" Sam turns to Shia. "Wasn't that H.H. Holmes' real name?"

Realization crosses Shia's face. She shakes her head. "We are so screwed."

"What are you talking about," Jo asks her.

"Herman Webster Mudgett is more commonly known as H.H. Holmes. He was hanged in an empty field next to an old prison. He was America's first serial killer before the term was coined by a bunch of psychologists in the twentieth century," Shia explains.

"Yeah, he confessed to twenty-seven murders, but some put the death toll at over a hundred," Sam continues.

"And his victim flavor of choice? Pretty petite blondes," Dean says. Jo tensely smiles, but it was obvious she was a little freaked out. "He used chloroform to kill 'em...which is what I smelled in the hallway last night."

"Yeah, at his place the cops found human remains," Shia comments. "Some bone fragments and long locks of bloody, blonde hair.

Dean shakes his head. "Boy, you sure knew how to pick 'em."

"So, we'll just find the bones, salt them, and burn them, right," Jo asks and Shia shakes her head.

"Holmes requested that his body be buried in cement so that no one could dissect his body since that's what he did," Shia answers.

"We might have an even bigger problem than that," Sam comments.

"How does this get bigger," Jo replies.

"Holmes built an apartment building in Chicago. They called it the Murder Castle. The whole place was a death factory. It had trapdoors, acid vats, quicklime pits. He built these secret chambers inside the walls. He'd lock his victims in, keep them alive for days. Some he'd suffocate, others he'd let starve to death."

"So, Teresa could still be alive. She could be inside the walls."

"We need sledgehammers, crowbars - we've gotta smash these walls anywhere thick enough to hide a girl," Dean tells them.

Shia waited patiently in the apartment again, as Sam, Dean, and Jo went to investigate. Dean made Shia stay behind, mainly because she was pregnant. Shia loved the attention he gives the pregnancy but she also hated it, she's only about eight weeks in her pregnancy and he's treating her like she's close to her due date. So many thoughts through Shia's mind. 'What does that demon want with me and my baby?'

"He's got Jo," Dean tells Shia as he burst through the door.

"What," Shia asks. "How'd that happen?"

"I wasn't with her. I left her alone. Damn it!"

"Babe," Shia begins trying to sound comforting. "Chill out. We'll find her, okay?"

"Where?"

"Inside the walls," Sam says.

"We've been inside the wall all night. If none of the other girls are there, she won't be either," Dean argues.

"We just need to take a breather and think about this," Shia tells him. "Maybe we missed something about Holmes' M.O."

"We better fucking think fast," Dean tells them. His cell phone starts ringing. "Yeah?" Shia and Sam sit down at the table. "Ellen. She's gonna have to call you back. Her and Shia are taking care of emotional business. You know with Shia being pregnant, her hormones are all over the place." Shia gives Dean an unamused look. "Look, we'll get her back. The spirit we're hunting. It took her. She'll be okay, I promise. What? It won't. I won't let it. Ellen, I'm sorry. I really am." Dean hangs up his phone. He turns to them, an expectant look on his face.

"Don't beat yourself up, Dean," Sam says. "There's nothing you could have done."

"Yeah. Cause Jo is Jo and I don't think anything would've stopped her from being on this job," Shia comments rolling her eyes.

"Tell me you've got something," Dean demands.

Sam and Shia exchange a look. They were both worried about Jo. "Maybe," Sam starts. Dean walks over to them. Sam spreads the old black and white crime scene photos out. "If you look at the layout of the Holmes Murder Castle, there's other torture chambers inside the walls, right?"

"Right."

"But there's one we haven't considered yet - the one in his basement."

"This building doesn't have a basement."

Sam puts a blueprint on top of the rest of the research. "Yeah, but beneath the foundation is the old sewer system. It hasn't been used-"

"Let's go."

Shia was trying not to gag as she crawled between Dean and Sam in the sewer system. She had been perfectly okay with sitting next to the sewer entrance. Until Sam pointed out that if the victim before Jo was still alive, then someone needed to lead her out. A disgusting smell reaches her nose. "I think I'm gonna puke," Shia complains.

Dean glances at her. A queasy look was on her face. "Dude," Sam says, shooting Dean an annoyed look.

"My eyes are burning."

"You're a real comedian, babe," Dean mutters. He sees the end of the tunnel and picks up his pace. Holmes was reaching in to a small hole in the wall. Dean pulls out a shotgun and aims it at Holmes. "Hey!" Holmes looks at him and Dean fires causing the ghost to disappear. He pushes open the gate and they climb out into a large room. "Jo?"

"I'm here," Jo shouts back.

Shia stands there as Dean opens Jo's cubicle and as Sam opens Teresa Ellis'. She weakly smiles at both of the women. "You okay, Jo," she asks.

Jo shrugs. "Been better. Let's get the hell out of here before he comes back."

"Actually, I don't think you're leaving here just yet," Dean says.

"What?"

"Remember when I said you being bait was a bad plan? Now, it's kind of the only one we've got."

Shia puts a comforting hand on Teresa's shoulder. "How about we get out of here? And let them do all they work?"

Shia yawns as she walks back into the apartment building. She had stayed with Teresa at the hospital until her boyfriend had gotten there. But she left the second she saw the police show up. Entering the apartment, Shia notices the tense silence. Dean, Sam, and Jo were quickly packing up while Ellen angrily watching. Shia starts to walk back out. "Shia."

"Damn," Shia whispers. She turns back around. "Hey, Ellen."

"Don't you 'hey' me," Ellen coldly counters. "You're just as much as part of this as they are."

Shia stares at the older woman, just before rolling her eyes...then shrugs. "I'll just go pack then."

The drive back to the Roadhouse was tense. Nothing could ease the tension in the car. And Shia hated being squeezed between Jo and Sam for the entire drive. She also hated that she was starting to feel sick again.

They enter the Roadhouse, all of them exhausted. "Ellen," Dean begins. "This is my fault. Okay? I lied to you and I'm sorry. But Jo did good out there. I think her dad would be proud."

"Don't you dare say that," Ellen snaps. "Not you. I need a moment with my daughter - alone."

Not ones to argue with Ellen, the three of them quickly leave the bark. "Way to go, Dean. If you would have not taken the damn case in the first place we be here being treated like children," Shia murmurs.

"Guys, don't," Sam says before Dean. "We're all tired. Okay."

"I was just saying what I thought, babe," Dean replies, ignoring Sam.

"Yeah, okay. Let's just find the nearest motel, so I can sleep in my own bed...alone," Shia says, leaning against the Impala, crossing her arms. Dean tried his best not to look hurt, he already had some woman the barely even know mad at him...now his own girlfriend is a bit pissed at him.

The bar door slams open and they turn to see Jo. Jo barely glances at them. Dean goes after her. "That bad, huh," he asks.

"Not right now," Jo coldly replies.

Dean puts a hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Hey, talk to me."

Jo shoves him away. "Get off me!"

"Sorry, see you around."

Jo stands there for a second, then turns around. "Dean." He stops and looks at her. "It turns out my dad had a partner on his last hunt. Funny, he usually worked alone. This guy did too. But I guess my father figured her could trust him - a mistake. Guy screwed up, got my dad killed."

"What does this have to do-"

"It was your father, Dean."

Dean's taken back. Shia glances at Sam to find him intensely paying attention. "Why do you think John never came back? Never told you about us? Cause he couldn't look my mom in the eye after that. That's why."

"Jo-"

"Just - just get out of here. Please, just leave."

Jo continues walking away. Dean hangs his head and climbs into the Impala. Shia takes her place in the backseat. After a couple of minutes of thinking, Sam climbs in and the Impala drives away from Harvelle's Roadhouse.


	23. Chapter 23: The Unusual Suspect (2x07)

(One week after 'No Exit')

Shia sits at her desk in the room her and Dean shares at Bobby's home working on what a Si God, or Semi God was. The answer was right in her face but she couldn't figure it out. Dean walked in with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Don't you want a shower, babe?" Dean asked walking to the bag he and Shia shared.

"No." Shia says as she turned to Dean, his appearance had Shia caught for words. Shia always forget the body he had under his clothes, Dean smirked at her.

"You see something you like?" Dean asked.

"Uh, as I was saying, I took a shower earlier today," Shia said avoiding Dean's eyes, she turned around to read more.

"Oh okay. I was thinking, we should do something tonight. Catch a movie, go out to dinner. You know what normal couples do." Dean said throwing on his shirt.

"No, that's okay. You can go out."

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Shia asked turning around to face Dean.

"You avoid talking to me, looking at me. You push me away. At night in bed when I touch you, you just shrug me off. I mean it's like you don't want to be with me anymore. Is that it? You don't want to be together anymore?"

"It's not that. Okay? It's just, I want you to feel free or I want you to not feel like I'm holding you down. Go out, Dean. Be wild, be crazy, have fun...with other women."

"You think you're not enough for me, do you?" Dean asked, Shia didn't speak she just avoided eye contact. Dean walked towards and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him. "Babe, you're enough for me. I promise. I love you and I love what we have. You're not holding me down."

"Dean, me being pregnant, it's just when the baby is born I feel like you're just gonna lash out and go around with other women and leave me with a child. I know saying this hurts, but that's how I feel." Shia says looking into Dean's emerald green eyes. Dean nodded, he leans forward and gives her a loving kiss.

"I could never leave you and our baby. You're the one, you understand me and you love me. I couldn't ask for anything else better." Shia smiled, she felt better after talking to Dean. She kissed him passionately and lovingly. They spent the rest of the talking and being cuddled up to each other.

(Present Time)

Shia looks up when the interrogation room door opens. She hated being in the police station, even through her and Sam hadn't technically been arrested. But that didn't make her feel any better. The woman didn't seem intimidating at all. She carried a file along with a coffee cup. "Figured you'd like something to drink."

"Thank you, Detective..." Shia trails off.

"Ballard."

Shia nods, watching as Ballard sits down across from her. "I'm guessing the bad cop is coming later."

"He's with Dean Winchester."

"So, why am I here?"

"Dean's being held on suspicion of murder. And we're waiting to see about you and Sam, Shia Colten." Ballard opens the file. "You're twenty five years old. You weren't in the system until you were fourteen, which is a bit weird, don't you think? You're legal guardian is Robert Singer. You attended Sioux Falls High School, you graduated with honors. Didn't go to college though. Your life isn't all that interesting. Plain ol Jane if you ask me."

"Wow, you guys really do your background checks here."

"We like to be thorough. So, which one of the boys are you with?."

Shia shrugs. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is it Sam?" She asked, Shia didn't look at her. "Or is it Dean?" Shia looked up. "Hmm. I hit a nerve. It's Dean."

"Sitting in here, you know it's kind of...boring."

"We ran Dean's fingerprints through IAFIS." Shia stares at Ballard. "Got over a dozen possible hits."

"And?"

"Makes me wonder what we'll find when we run your prints."

Shia shrugs indifference. "I'm sure you'll let me know, right?"

Ballard sighs and closes the file. She leans forward. "Shia, we know about the young women that Dean tortured in St. Louis. And detectives there are exhuming a corpse, trying to figure out how he faked his own death. You don't have to be afraid anymore of your boyfriend. We caught him red handed at Karen Giles' murder scene. You tell us what you know and you'll be able to walk out of here."

Shia sighs. "Apparently their dad and Tony Giles were old friends. Their dad and Tony were in the service together. So, when we heard about his death, we came as soon as could."

Shiagives Sam a thankful smile when he sets a try of coffee cups down on the table they were sitting at. They were sitting at a coffee shop in WashingtonD.C. It had been her idea to go there for a vacation, which only lasted a day. But she enjoyed getting to see some of the monuments and museums, even if Dean bitched the entire time. Dean was reading the paper and then lays it on the table. "Anthony Giles."

"Is he any way related to Rupert Giles," Shia amusingly asks and Dean stares at her. "Buffy'swatcher,Imeanwhileyouguysleaveforsomething,Ihavetohavesomethingtowatchordo. Did you only pay attention to Willow and Tara?"

"Baltimore lawyer. Working late at his office, check it out," Dean replies, ignoringShia's question. He slides the paper toSam and wraps his arm around Shia.

"'Histhroat was slit but the room wasclean.'Huh. No DNA, no prints," Sam reads out loud.

"Keep reading, it gets better."

"Securitycameras failed to capture footage of theassailant.'"

"So, someone either messed with the tapes or..." Shia trails off.

"It's an invisible killer," Sam finishes.

"My favorite kind. What do you think,Scully? We'll check it out," Dean asks and Shia rolls her eyes.

"I'm notScully, you'reScully."

"No, I'mMulder. You're ared-headedwoman."

"As long as I get to be Buffy, I don't really care," Shia comments and smirks over the top of her cup. "Deancan be my loving prince. Yes, I know that has nothing to do with Buffy..."

"We weren't even in town when Tony died," Shia says.

Ballard nods. "So, tell me what happened next."

"We decided to go see Karen." Shia shakes her head. "Poor Karen. We all just wanted to be there for her. You know?"

Shiagives Karen Giles a sad smile as the woman digs through paperwork, crying. She wanted to give the woman a comforting hug, but it would break their cover. "Insurance," Karen sniffles. "I totally forgot about the insurance."

"We're so sorry to be bother you right now, Mrs. Giles," Shia softly tells her. "But the company is required to conduct its own investigation."

"Sure."

"Well, if you could just tell us anything you remember about the night your husband died," Sam softly says.

"Tony and I were just supposed to have dinner. He called and said that he was having computer troubles and that he had to work late. And that was it."

"Do you have any idea who could've done this to him?"

"No. No. It's like I told the police. I-I have no idea."

"Did Tony mention anything unusual to you in the days before his death," Dean asks and Shia resists the urge to look at him.

"Unusual?"

"Yeah, like, strange."

"Strange?"

"You know, Karen, weird. Weird noises, visions, anything like that," Dean asks. Sam clears his throat, glaring at shoots Dean a dirty look.

"He had a nightmare the day before he died."

"What kind of nightmare,"Shiasoftly asks.

"Uh, he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed. He blinked. She was gone. I mean, it was just a nightmare."

"Did he say what she looked like," Dean asks.

"What the hell difference does it make what she looked like?"

"Our company is just extremely thorough," Shia quicklyanswers placing a hand on her small forming pregnant belly.

"He said she was pale and she had dark, red eyes," Karen replies and they nod.

Shia brushes back some of her dark hair. "I gave Karen a hug and told her to call me if she ever needed anything. I figured it was the least I could do."

"Shia, honey, I am trying to help you here, but you have got to be honest with me."

"I am being honest, Detective."

"We have an eyewitness, someone who saw two men and a woman, fitting yours and the Winchesters description, breaking into Giles' office."

"Karen called. She said there were things in Tony's office that she wanted, but the police weren't letting her in. So, we said that we would get the stuff. I know it was wrong since his office is still a crime scene. But I wanted to make Karen feel better and if getting that stuff for her helped, then..." Shia said looking down trying to come off as a helpful friend.

When they enter AnthonyGiles'office, the first thing Shia sees a blood stain on the floor. She quicklyadvertsher gaze and moves away from the door. A desk and a couple of chairs were towards the back of the room, while filing cabinets were along the wall. "Hey. AnthonyGiles'body was found right about here," Sam says and Shia shakes her head in disbelief. "Throat slit so deep, part of his spinal cord was visible."

"What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underline'vengeful'," Dean asks them.

"Could be. I mean, he did see that woman," Shia replies.

Dean grabs a piece of paper from the printer and hands it to Shia. "Babe, take a look at this."

Shiaraises an eyebrow at the words'DanaShulps'written over and over. "Is DanaShulpssome kind of name," she asks, handing the paper to Sam.

"I don't know, but it's everywhere.'Allwork and no play makes Jack a dullboy.'"

Shiaturns as Sam blows on the glass desk and sees the name written again. "Wow. I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird," he says.

"Maybe Giles knew her."

"Could be the name of ourred-eyedmystery lady,"Shiacomments.

"Well, let's see what we can find," Dean replies, pulling out a drawer from a filing cabinet. Time passes as the three of them searchesGiles'office and Shia lets out a sigh. Dean closes the filing cabinet and takes a seat in front of the desk. "There's not a single mention of a DanaShulpsanywhere. There's not . Or any other kind of fuckingShulps."

"I haven't found anything either."

"What do you got," Dean asks Sam.

"Nothing. No DanaShulpshas ever lived or died in Baltimore in the last fifty years, at least," Sam replies.

"So, what now?"

"Well, I think I'm pretty close to crackingGiles'password. Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know?"

"By'close,' youmean…"

"Thirty minutes, maybe?"

"Awesome." Dean plops down in one of the chairs. "So, I guess I just get to hang out. That's awesome." Shia turns her attention back to the file she was looking through and lets out a sighofamusementwhen Dean starts making noises.

"Dean," Sam warns and he shoots up from the chair.

"All right, I'm gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this DanaShulps, huh?"

"Great," Sam says, not looking away from the computer.

Dean starts to walk out, but pauses byShiatogiveheraquickkiss. "You coming?"

"No. I haven't finished going through these files yet,"Shiaexplains and Dean nodsbeforegivingheronemorequickkiss, quickly exiting the office.

Why didn't you go with him?"

"Knowing myself and Dean we most likely wouldn't have made to her house, we would have stopped at some cheap motel and...have fun." Shia said cheekily sending the detective a smirk.

"Try to be serious."

"Look, I know my boyfriend, he wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason; he's not like that. And he had no reason to hurt Karen, I promise."

"Shia, sweetie, I really do want to help you."

"Couldn't Dean have found Karen like that? What if you're just deciding it was him because you found him there? What if someone else killed Karen? You're letting her real killer get away."

Ballard sighs. Shia watches as Ballard walks out of the interrogation room. She knew exactly where Ballard was heading during the questioning and had played to it. After sitting in the room for a couple of hours, without anyone visiting her, Shia makes her way to the door. She unbuttons a couple of extra buttons on her shirt. A young uniformed police officer was sitting a desk. "Excuse me," she softly says, causing the officer to look up. "Where's the bathroom?"

"It's, uh, it's just down the hall," the young officer stutters.

She smiles at him. "Thank you."

"But I'm not supposed to let you leave interrogation."

"What if you just stood right outside the door, Officer..."

"Franklin. Joey Franklin."

"I really have to use the bathroom, Officer Joey."

Joey stares at her, then stands up. "I can stand outside the door." He leads her to the bathroom and stops in front of the door.

Shia smiles sweetly at him. "Thank you, Officer Joey." Once in the bathroom, she locks the door and notices that there isn't a window. After a few minutes, she opens the door and sheepishly smiles at Joey. "This is so embarrassing, but you wouldn't happen to have a quarter, would you?"

"No. But I can go get some change. Just stay here."

"Of course, Officer Joey." She watches he darts off, then continues down the hallway. After glancing into some rooms, she finally finds one with a window and a fire escape. "Jack pot." Shia locks the door and opens the window. She climbs out and quietly closes the window before making her way down the fire escape.

With no credit card, cash, or phone, it takes Shia a few hours to find their meeting place. Exhausted, she knocks on the door. And she tiredly grins at Sam, who immediately pulls her into a tight embrace. "I've been worried about you, Shia," he murmurs against the top of her head. "Are you okay? Uh...both of you?"

Shia smiles against his chest. "I'm fine Sammy boy, we both are. Goodness, I'm only twelve weeks pregnant. Not like I'm about to give birth. Gosh, you and Dean are so much a like."

Sam laughs. Shia feels the vibrations in his chest. "Yeah, I know."

After a little while, Detective Ballard shows up at the motel room Dean, Shia, and Sam shares. Turns out the the spirit is after her.

"Whoa, wait. Who the hell told you we were here?" Shia asked crossing her arms.

"Dean, who else would be able to tell me? Oh ad he told me to tell you that you do not leave, only Sam and I will try to figure things out." Detective Ballard tells Shia.

"What?!" Shia yells, she couldn't believe Dean even suggest she stay back at the motel...well...okay...it was believable.

"He's just concerned about you that's all, doesn't want you hurt. Sweetie, that boy loves you."

"Well, Dean's right. You should stay behind. We'll be back soon. Okay?" Sam says grabbing his jacket.

"But Sam-"

"Shia, no, seriously. You're pregnant."

"I'm so sick of this shit! You and Dean been using this pregnant thing against me since you both found out about! I understand if I was 38 weeks pregnant and could barely stand up, but I'm only 12 weeks! I'm not even showing yet. This just isn't fair." Shia says sitting down on the bed, glaring at best friend. Sam didn't know what to say, he just gave the detective a look and they both walked out the door.

Something was wrong, Shia could feel it. Something bad was going to happen and she had to help. Shia decided to do something she really didn't want to do...she tapped into the baby's power.

"Okay, little one. You're going to help me find your uncle. Ready?" Shia mumbles to herself, then within the blink of an eye she was in front of the building Sam and Detective Ballard was in. In stead of going inside she orbed into the car that Ballard drove.

"All right, thanks," Ballard says, hanging up her phone. They were driving to the police station, ready to confront Ballard's partner. Shia stayed hidden in the back, growing worried for her boyfriend Dean after listening to their previous conversation.

"What is it," Sam asks becoming worried.

"Pete just left the precinct. With Dean."

"What?!" Shia blurts out, Sam and Ballard jumped at the sudden out burst. Sam turned around in his seat to look at Shia, he looked a bit upset.

"How the hell? How long have you been there?"

"For a good bit-"

"How?"

"Me and the kid worked together," Shia said glancing down at her somewhat flat, plump stomach.

"He said the prisoner had to be transferred and he just took him. Dispatch has been calling, but he won't answer the radio," Ballard explains trying to change the topic for her sanity, she just found out ghost were real...she wasn't ready for any other information.

"Radio? He took a county vehicle," Sam asks and Shia frowns, confused.

"Yeah."

"Then it should have a LoJack. You've just gotta get it turned on," Sam replies and Shia leans back, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not through talking to you yet, Shia. Just wait until we're alone."

When they arrive at the empty field where Detective Sheridan and Dean are, Shia and Sam skid to a stop seeing that Sheridan was holding a gun and aiming it at Dean. "Pete! Put the gun down," Ballard orders, pulling out her gun.

"Diana? How'd you find me," Sheridan asks.

"I know about Claire."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Put the gun down!"

"No, I don't think so. You're fast. Pretty sure I'm faster."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I didn't do anything, Diana."

"It's a little late for that."

"It wasn't my fault. Claire was gonna turn me in, I had no choice."

"And Tony? Karen?"

"Same thing! Tony scrubbed the money, then he got skittish, and then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything. It was a mess. I had to clean it up. I just panicked."

"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?"

"There's a way out. This Dean kid's a friggin' gift. We can pin the whole thing on him, okay? No trail, nothing. Just one more dead scumbag."

"Hey," Dean exclaims.

"No one will question it. Diana, please. I still love you," Sheridan begs and Ballard slowly lowers her gun. "Thank you. Thank you." Sheridan aims his gun at Dean and gets ready to shoot when Ballard suddenly shoots him in the leg, causing Sheridan to fall to the ground.

"Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass," Ballard angrily replies. Sheridan grabs her leg and she falls to the ground. He stands up and aims his gun as Shia and Sam move to help Dean.

"Don't do it! Don't do it," Sheridan warns. Claire appears by the van and Sheridan turns in shock. Ballard grabs her gun and shoots him in the back. They watch as Sheridan falls to the ground and Claire disappears. Just then a force field goes around Shia.

"A little late, kid." Shia says as the shield fades way. Dean and Sam smile at her for a second.

Shia gives Ballard a sad smile as the detective walks over to them after examining Sheridan's body. Dean was unhand cuffed and taking care of some business behind one of the trees. "You doing all right," Sam asks.

"Not really. The death omen, Claire - what happens to her now," Ballard asks.

"She should be at rest now," Shia answers and Ballard nods.

"So, uh, what now, Officer," Dean asks, walking back over to them.

"Pete did confess to me. He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say there's a good chance that we can get your cases dismissed," Ballard explains.

"You could take care of that for us," Sam disbelievingly asks.

"I hope so. But the St. Louis murder charges - that's another story. I can't help you. Unless, I just happened to turn my back and you walked away, I could tell them that the suspects escaped."

"Wait, are you sure?"

"Yeah, she's sure, Sam," Dean tells him as he puts an arm around Shia.

"No, it's just you could lose your job over something like that."

"I just want you three out there, doing what you do best. Trust me. I'll sleep better at night. Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for all of you right now. Get out of here. I've got to radio this is in," Ballard replies.

"Hey, you wouldn't happened to know where my car is by chance," Dean asks and Shia smirks at him.

"It's at the impound yard on Robertson...don't even think about it."

"Don't worry. We'll just improvise. Kinda good at it," Shia reassures.

"Yeah. I've noticed," Ballard replies and smiles at them.

The three of them start walking down the dirt road and Dean rubs his wrists before wrapping his arm around his girlfriend again. "Nice lady," Sam comments.

"Yeah, for a cop. Did she look familiar to either of you," Dean asks.

"Nope. Why you ask," Shia replies.

"I don't know. Anyway, are you hungry?"

"No," Sam answers.

"For some reason, I could really go for some pea soup," Dean explains and Shia shakes her head in disbelief.

"I thought I should say something like that. You know...since I'm the pregnant one." Shia laughs, Dean grinned at her.

Back on the road with a sleeping Sam in the backseat, Dean glances at Shia looking out the window.

"Sam told me what you did..." Dean starts.

"Dean-"

"No, Shia, that was dangerous. I told you how I feel about you going out on hunts with us. I mean looking at information is just fine, but going out..I don't like it." Dean says tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"Dean, I'm sorry. Okay? I just hate sitting back and doing nothing. It kills me. I just...I'm sorry." Shia says going back to looking out the window. They both sit in comfortable silence as Dean reach over and place a hand on Shia's growing belly. Shia gives him a soft smile.


	24. Chapter 24: Croatoan (2x09)

Shia stands in front of a long standing mirror examining her plump baby bump, she rubs it with amazement. Fourteen weeks pregnant. Michael, her brother, says that she's a bit big to be fourteen weeks. Shia was scared at the thought of multiple babies inside of her, but Michael says that every woman grows differently during a pregnancy. As Shia was thinking about her baby, Dean walks in seeing his girlfriend staring at her growing stomach; he couldn't help smile at the site. She was perfect.

"Ready to go, babe?" Dean ask pulling Shia out of her own thoughts. Shia turned to Dean and pulled down her tight shirt.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Shia says with a smile and begin to walk pass him, but Dean grabs her arm and pulled her towards him giving her a loving kiss.

"You're beautiful, you know."

"You tell me this all the time."

"It's true." Dean says guiding his hand down Shia's baby belly. Shia smiled at him, she knew that Dean was in love with her and her pregnancy. The thought of his child growing inside the woman he loves was amazing to him.

"We should get going, Dean, before Sam gets annoyed." Shia said smiling to herself.

"Wait. I, uh, I got you something," Dean says as her pulled out a small box. "Here."

Shia takes the gift and opens the box, inside is a golden bracket with charms on them. It had the initials of everyone she loved. P.B.S (Papa Bobby Singer), D.W (Dean Winchester), S.W (Sam Winchester), J.W (John Winchester), Julius, Michael, Tanner, and the last charm bracelet had a question mark.

"It's for the baby. We don't know the sex, so we can't name it." Dean says before she even asked. Shia wanted to cry so badly, but instead she gave Dean a very tight hug.

"Continue on OR-224 west," Sam's phone says and Shia leans over the seat to look over Sam's shoulder. His vision had been disturbing to all of them. Shia always trusted Dean to do the right thing.

"There are only two towns in the U.S. named River Grove," Sam comments and Shia glances at Dean.

"How come you're so sure it's the one in Oregon," Dean asks him.

"There was a picture - Crater Lake."

"What else did you see," Shia asks Sam and he lets out a sigh.

"I saw a dark room, some people, and a guy tied to a chair."

"And I ventilated him," Dean asks, taking his gaze off the dark road for a second.

"Yeah. You thought there was something inside him."

"A demon? Was he possessed?"

"I don't know."

"Well, all your weirdo visions are always tied to the Yellow-Eyed Demon somehow. So, was there any black smoke? Did we try to exorcise him?"

"No. Nothing. You just plugged him, and that's it."

"Well, I'm sure I had a good reason."

"I sure hope so."

"What does that mean," Dean asks and a silence falls over the three of them when Sam doesn't answer. "Sam, I'm not gonna waste an innocent man." Shia looks at Dean for just a second. "I wouldn't!"

"I never said you would," Sam shouts back.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"You know, I thought me and Dean were the couple...you know because we fight a lot. You two fight like a married couple though.," Shia says, trying to break the tension. Neither of them respond. She sighs and leans back against the seat as she place a hand on her little growing baby bump.

They pull into River Grove, Oregon and Shia looks around, for some odd reason she was super sick to her stomach. It wasn't the baby, it was something far more worse. She couldn't put her finger on it, though. Stores were on either side of the street, with a covered sidewalk on one side. "Small town. I like small towns. S'cute." Shia amusedly says ignoring her feelings.

"He was there," Sam says, pointing to a man who was sitting on a porch cleaning a gun.

Dean parks the car and the three of them get out of the Impala. Shia tugs on her jacket to hide her baby bump. "Morning," Dean greets.

"Morning. Can I help you," the man asks them and Dean pulls out his fake ID.

"Yeah. Uh, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, Maria Garcia - U.S. Marshals."

"What's this about?"

"We're looking for someone."

"A young man, early twenties. He'd have a thin scar right below his hairline," Sam tells him.

"What'd he do?"

"Nothing," Shia answers and he looks at her. "We're looking for someone and are hoping that this young man could give us information."

"Yeah, he's not in any kind of trouble or anything. Well, not yet," Dean says in agreement. "I think maybe you know who he is, Master Sergeant. My dad was in the Corps. He was a corporal."

"What company," Sarge asks him.

"Echo two-one."

"So, can you help us," Sam asks and Shia gives Sarge a bright smile.

"Duane Tanner's got a scar like that. But I know him - good kid, keeps his nose clean," Sarge answers.

"No, I'm sure he does. You know where he lives," Dean replies.

"With his family, up on Aspen Way."

"Thank you," Shia tells him and they head back across the street where Dean had parked the Impala.

"Hey," Sam calls and Shia and Dean turn around to see him standing by a telephone pole, pointing to a word craved into the pole. They walk over to him.

"'Croatoan,'" Dean asks.

"Croatoan was the only word left by the colonists living in Roanoke in the late sixteenth century. The second time the English tried to settle there is the most famous one. One of the colonists, John White, left in 1587 and when he returned from England in 1590 the entire colony was no longer there," Shia explains.

"And there were theories - Indian raid, disease. But nobody knows what really happened," Sam continues. Dean looks between them, then he noticed Shia's eyes as she gazed at the pole.

"Shia, hey!" Dean getting her attention, her eyes were normal again. Before Dean could ask what was wrong, Shia shook her head, telling him it was nothing.

"You don't think that's what's going on here," Dean asks getting back on subject and Shia shakes her head.

"It could be," Sam counters and Shia shakes her head again.

"Croatoan was the name of another island. The most common theory, Sam, is that the colonists went to another island, which is modern day Hatteras Island and that because of bad weather kept White from going south so he just returned to England," Shia retorts and gives Sam a smug look.

"There is no proof that actually happened and knowing what we know, Shia, anything could be possible."

Shia starts to say something else, but Dean steps in between them. "Both of you put the claws back in. All of your weirdo visions are always tied to the Yellow-Eyed Demon somehow, so..."

"We should get help. Bobby? Ellen, maybe," Sam replies and Shia lets the argument drop for the time being.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dean replies and pulls out his phone. "I don't have a signal."

Shia rolls her eyes and pulls her phone out. "See, this is why you should get me one of those new phones...I don't have any bars either."

Dean walks over to a pay phone and grabs the receiver, before slamming it back down. "Line's dead. I'll tell you one thing - if I was gonna massacre a town, that'd be my first step."

Dean drives to the 'Tanner' residents, as he stops he turns around to tell Shia that she wasn't going with them.

"I know. I know. Stay in the car, if something major comes up burst in there like a Demi God and use my powers." Shia says before Dean could get a word out. Dean gives her and smile and leans over to give her a quick kiss before leaving.

For some reason Shia was getting tired, so simply and quickly she fell asleep. She was surrounded with darkness in her dream, it was nothing but her...then.

"Shia." A voice whispered in the dark. Shia turned around quickly to become face to face with Azazel.

"Yellow Eyes. What the hell are you doing in my dreams?"

"We have a special bond. Can't you see that?"

"No, I can't. You know, if I had the colt in my dreams...you would be wasted right now." Shia tells the demon smirking to herself.

"Yes, I know. You don't scare me, Demi God. Your child doesn't scare me either."

"What do you want with it?"

"World domination."

"Your little army of people like Sam Winchester isn't enough for you?" Shia asked.

"Do you know what to call your abnormal child when it arrives?" Azazel ask changing the subject.

"No. Why?"

"Just a wondering thought." The demon says smiling to himself.

"You want to tell me why I feel very sick in this damn town?" Shia asks.

"Demi Gods don't react too kindly to demons."

"But I've been around demons before and-" Shia started to say but Azazel cut her short.

"Your powers are growing, and it's not the child who's doing that to you. Go On. Wake up." Azazel said as he snapped his fingers. Shia gasped waking up in the impala. Dean turned around.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked keeping his eyes on the road. Shia noticed the blood on him and Sam...and the blood on the woman beside her.

"I'm fine. You should be worried about her, not me."

They pull up the small medical clinic. Shia stands to the side as Sam helps Beverly Tanner out of the Impala before they enter the clinic. "Hello? Hello, we need a doctor here," Sam shouts through out the empty waiting room.

A blonde nurse enters the room. "Mrs. Tanner, what happened?"

"She was attacked," Sam answers.

"Dr. Lee," the nurse yells and an older blonde woman wearing a lab coat walks into the room.

"Bring her in," Dr. Lee tells them and Shia and Sam take Beverly into the small office. Beverly takes a seat on the table as Dr. Lee and Dean, carrying Mr. Tanner's body, walks into the room. Dean sits the body on the ground and Beverly starts explaining what had happened as Dr. Lee treats her injury. "Wait, you said Jake helped him? Your son, Jake?"

"They beat me...tied me up," Beverly tells them.

"I don't believe it," the nurse comments.

"Pam," Dr. Lee scolds and turns back to Beverly. "Beverly, do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not," Beverly replies and starts to cry, causing Shia to give the woman a sad look. "I don't know why. One minute, they were my husband and my son. And the next...they had the devil in them."

Dean slips his arm around Shia's waist and pulls her out of the exam room with Sam following them. "These guys are whacked out of their gourds."

"What do you think? Multiple demons? Mass possession," Sam asks and Shia looks back at the examination room. Demons, Azazel said something about demons being in town.

"If it is a possession, there could be more. God knows how many. It could be like a fucking Shriner Convention."

"Great."

"Course, that's one way to wipe out a town. You take it from the inside."

"But there weren't any of the usual signs that we normally associate with demons," Shia counters and tears her gaze from the door.

"Well, whatever. I mean, something turned him into a monster. And Sam, if you would have taken out the other one, there'd be one less to worry about," Dean replies.

"I'm sorry, all right? I hesitated, Dean, it was a kid," Sam responds.

"No, it was an 'it.' Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam."

Dr. Lee exits the examination room and walks over to them. "How is she doing," Shia asks the doctor.

"Terrible. What the hell happened out there," Dr. Lee asks them.

"We don't know," Dean tells her.

"Yeah? Well, you just killed my next door neighbor."

"We didn't have a choice."

"Maybe so, but we need the county sheriff. I need the coroner."

"None of the phones are working," Shia says and Dr. Lee nods.

"I know, I tried. Tell me you've got a police radio in the car."

"Yeah, we do. But it crapped out just like everything else," Sam tells Dr. Lee, who lets out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't understand what is happening."

"How far is it to the next town," Dean asks.

"It's about forty miles down to Sidewinder."

"All right, I'm gonna go down there and see if we can find some help. My partners will stick around - keep you guys safe," Dean tells the doctor.

"Safe from what," the doctor asks them.

The three of them exchange a look. "We'll get back to you on that," Dean answers, before walking out of the clinic Shia grabs Dean's arm.

"Please be safe." Shia says, Dean nodded before leaving out.

Shia sits in a chair in the exam room. She reaches down and rubs her small pregnant belly. Sam shoots her a concerned look, but she smiles back at him. He turns back to staring at Mr. Tanner's body, which was on the table. Dr. Lee was examining something in a microscope. "Huh."

"What," Shia asks.

"His lymphocyte percentage is pretty high. His body was fighting off a viral infection."

"Really," Sam disbelievingly asks. "What kind of virus?"

"Can't say for sure."

"Could the virus have him made act like that," Shia asks.

"None that I've ever heard of. I mean, some can cause dementia, but not that kind of violence. And besides, I've never heard of one that did this to the blood."

"Did what," Sam asks.

"There's this weird residue. If I didn't know better...I'd say it was sulfur."

"Sulfur."

"I'm gonna go get Beverly. See if she knows anything."

Shia waits until the door is closed, and the doctor was out of earshot. "The last thing we need is to be in a real life 28 Days Later."

"Are you okay," Sam asks, concern laced in his voice.

"I'm fine, Sam. We're fine. Don't worry." Sam nodded at Shia's words hoping she meant what she was saying.

The door opens and they watch as Dr. Lee walks in with Beverly. "I don't understand," Beverly says. "Are you saying my husband and Jake had a disease?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Dr. Lee responds. "Now, during the attack, do you remember...did you have any direct contact with their blood."

"Oh my God. You don't think I've got this virus, do you?"

"Beverly, I don't know what to think. But with your permission, we'll take a blood sample."

Beverly stands there for a moment, smiling. Then she changes. She shoves Dr. Lee to the floor. Shia stands up and Beverly pushes her down making her land hard on her back. She grabs a scalpel off a tray and runs towards Sam. But he knocks Beverly out with a nearby oxygen tank before she can do anything else.

"Shia." Sam says going to her side to help her up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That bitch pushed me pretty hard though."

Shia watches as Pam paces around the exam room. Sam was standing next to her. Dr. Lee walks into the exam room and hands Shia a bottle of pain pills, ones that she guaranteed wouldn't hurt the baby. "What if we all have it," Pam nervously blurts out. "What if we all go crazy?"

"We've gotta stay calm," Dr. Lee says. "All we can do is wait. The Marshal's bringing help."

"No, I can't. I've gotta go."

Pam runs out the room and the three of them go after. "Pam," Shia calls out.

"No, you don't understand. My boyfriend's out there. I gotta make sure he's okay."

"Wait, wait," Sam tells her. "Please. I know you're upset, alright? But it's safe if you stay here for now. Help is coming." A loud engine signals the arrival of the Impala. "There they are."

Pounding comes from the other side of the door. "Babe, Sammy, open up," Dean shouts.

Shia unlocks the door, allowing Dean and the man they had met earlier to enter. "Did you find a phone?"

"Roadblock," Dean replies giving Shia a quick kiss before he turns to the Sergeant. "We're gonna have a word. Doc's inside."

Sam waits until the Sergeant is no longer in hearing distance and turns to them. "What's going on out there?"

"Man, I don't know. I feel like Chuck Heston in The Omega Man. Sarge was the only sane person we could find. What are we dealing with, do you know?"

"Dr. Lee thinks it might be a virus," Shia tells him.

"Okay, great. What do you think?"

"I think she's right," Sam replies.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. And I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood-to-blood contact. Oh, but it gets better. The virus leaves traces of sulfur in the blood."

"A demonic virus," Dean disbelievingly asks.

"Yeah, more like demonic germ warfare. At least that explains why I've been having visions."

"More like a biblical plague," Shia says.

"Yeah. You don't know how right you are. I've been pouring through Dad's journal. I found something about the Roanoke colony."

"And," Dean asks.

"Dad always had a theory about Croatoan. He thought it was a demon's name - sometimes known as Dever or sometimes Reshef. A demon of plague and pestilence," Sam explains and Shia frowns.

"Well, that's terrific. Why here? Why now," Dean asks him and Sam shrugs.

"I have no idea. But….who knows how far this thing can spread? We've gotta get out of here, we've gotta warn people."

Shia starts to say something, but the Sergeant yells to them. "They've got one! In here!"

"What do you mean," Dean asks as they walk into the doctor's office.

"The wife. She's infected," Sam answers.

"We've gotta take care of this. We can't just leave her in there. My neighbors - they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she'll get," the Sergeant explains to them, standing outside the room where Beverly was, aiming his gun at the door.

"You're gonna kill Beverly Tanner," Pam asks them and Sam turns to the doctor.

"Doctor, could there be any treatment? Some kind of cure for this," Sam asks.

"Can you cure this," Shia asks the doctor.

"For God's sake, I don't even know what 'it' is," Dr. Lee replies.

"I told you, it's a matter of time before she breaks through," Sergeant tells them and Shia looks at Dean.

"Just leave her there! You can't shoot her like an animal," Pam yells at them.

"Sam," Dean says and Shia watches as the two of them walk over to the utility closet. The Sergeant nods and opens the door.

"Mark, what are you doing? Mark, it's them! They locked me in here, they tried to kill me! They're infected, not me! Please, Mark! You've known me all your life! Please," Beverly begs and Shia looks away.

"You're sure she's one of them," Shia hears Dean asks.

"Yeah," Sam answers and a gun shot rings throughout the clinic.

Shia winces as she sits down a couple of feet away from where Dean and Sam were cleaning weapons. Things were tense since Dean had shot Beverly. Everyone was off doing their own thing, lost in their thoughts. She takes out the bottle of pills Dr. Lee had given her. "Aren't those the pain meds that can hurt the baby?," Dean asks.

"These are different ones," Shia tells him. "Dr. Lee gave them to me. She said they wouldn't hurt the baby at all."

"I was just making sure. Sam said you had a pretty bad fall when Beverly pushed you."

"Well, I'm fine now. No need to worry." Shia said to Dean before giving him a loving kiss on his full lips.

Dean starts to lean in for another kiss but a scream echoes throughout the clinic. They quickly make their way over the doctor's office where Dr. Lee, Pam and the Sergeant already are. "Why are we staying here? Please, let's just go," Pam begs.

"No, we can't, cause those things are everywhere," Dean tells the young nurse.

"Oh, God," Pam sobs and Dr. Lee comforts her as Sam makes his over to them.

"She's right about one thing. We can't stay here. We've gotta get out of here - get to the Roadhouse, somewhere. Let people know what's coming," Sam tells them.

"Yeah, that's a good point. Night of the Living Deaddidn't exactly end pretty," Dean replies.

"I'm not sure we've got a choice. Lots of folks up here are good with rifles. Even with all your hard work, we're easy targets. So, unless you've got some explosives," the Sergeant says and Shia smirks noticing the bottles on a top shelf.

"We could make some," Shia comments, motioning to the shelf.

"Hey, let me in! Let me in, please," someone shouts from the front entrance and they quickly walk into the waiting room.

"It's Duane Tanner," the Sergeant informs them, opening the door and letting the young man in.

"Oh, thank God."

"Duane, you okay?"

"That's the guy that I, uh…" Dean quietly asks, making a motion across his throat.

"Yeah," Sam answers and Shia lets out a sigh.

"Who else is in here," Duane asks them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, chief. Hey, Doc, give Duane a good once over, would you," Dean asks, leading Duane into the doctor's office, with the rest of them following him and Dr. Lee calling for Pam.

"Who are you?"

"Never mind who I am. Doc?"

"Yeah, okay," Dr. Lee replies as Pam enters the room.

"Duane, where you been," the Sergeant asks him.

"I was on a fishing trip up by Roseland. I came back this afternoon. I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know. They started cutting him with knives! I ran, I've been hiding in the woods ever since. Has anybody seen my mom and dad," Duane explains.

"Awkward," Dean quietly comments and Shia hits him on the stomach.

"You're bleeding," Dr. Lee states, pointing to the cut on Duane's leg.

"Where'd you get that," Dean asks.

"I was running. I must've tripped," Duane answers.

"Tie him up. There's rope in there," Dean tells the Sergeant.

"Wait-"

"Sit down," Dean yells at Duane, raising his gun.

"Sorry, Duane, he's right. We've gotta be careful," the Sergeant tells the young man.

"Careful? About what," Duane asks them.

"Did anybody bleed on you," Shia asks him, sending a look to Dean.

"No, what the hell! No," Duane shouts as the Sergeant grabs some rope.

"Doc, any way to know for sure? Any tests," Sam softly asks the doctor.

"It took three hours for the virus to incubate. Sulfur didn't appear in the blood until then, so…no, there'd be no way of knowing. Not until after Duane…turns," Dr. Lee answers.

"I've gotta talk to you two. Now," Sam tells Shia and Dean. They walk out of the room as the Sergeant gets Duane to sit down in a chair and enter another one. "This is my vision. It's happening."

"Yeah, I figured," Dean deadpans and Shia lets out a sigh.

"You can't kill him, all right? Not yet. We don't know if he's infected or not."

"He just showed up out of nowhere, Sam, with a cut on his leg and we know that his entire family was infected," Shia comments and Sam stares at her, causing her to shrug. "It's the truth."

"Then we should keep him tied up and we should wait and see," Sam counters.

"For what? For him to Hulk out? Infect somebody else? No, thanks, can't take that chance," Dean says and starts to leave, but Sam stops him. "Look, man, I'm not happy about this, okay? But it's a tough job and you know that."

"It's supposed to be tough, Dean! We're supposed to struggle with this, that's the whole point!"

"What does that buy us?"

"A clear conscience for one."

"It's too late for that."

"What the hell has happened to you?"

"You might kill an innocent man and you don't even care? You don't act like yourself anymore, Dean. Hell, you know what? You're acting like one of those things out there."

"Sam," Shia disbelievingly says as Dean walks out of the room they were in, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Hey," Sam shouts, banging on the door. "Open the damn door. Dean! Don't do it, Dean! Don't!"

"Sam, stop it!"

"He's going to kill him and you don't even care either."

"You don't know that, Sam! So, just stop it and trust that Dean will do the right thing," Shia sternly tells him and sits down on a rolling stool.

"Just like you to easily trust in him," Sam mumbles. Shia heard him but chose to ignore it.

Things are quiet between the three of them as they make the explosives when Dr. Lee enters the room they were in. "It's been over four hours. Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected. I'd like to untie him, if that's all right."

Sam looks at Shia and Dean, before turning to Dr. Lee. "Sure yeah." He waits for Dr. Lee to leave and turns to Dean. "You know I'm gonna ask you why."

"Yeah, I know," Dean replies.

"So, why? Why didn't you do it?"

"We need more alcohol," Dean states and Shia watches as Sam walks out of the room, before turning to Dean.

"It doesn't matter why you didn't do it, just that you made what you consider a good decision," Shia softly says. Dean nodded and quickly gave his girl a kiss. A door slamming shut causes them to turn. The door leading to the supply closet was closed. Dean and the Sergeant run over to the door, kicking it open. Dean shoots several times and Shia makes her way over there as the Sergeant stops Dean from helping Sam up, who was bleeding from a cut on his chest, noticing Pam lying on the floor dead.

"She bled on him. He's got the virus," the Sergeant states and Shia looks between Dean and Sam.

Shia, Dean, the Sergeant, Dr. Lee, Duane and Sam, who was sitting on the exam table, were in an exam room. "Doctor, check his wound again, would you," Dean asks and the Dr. Lee just stands there. "Doctor!"

"What does she need to examine it for? You saw what happened," the Sergeant states.

"Did her blood actually enter your wound," Dr. Lee asks Sam.

"Come on, of course it did!"

"We don't actually know that," Shia comments.

"We can't take a chance," Duane counters.

"You know what we have to do," the Sergeant tells Dean.

"Nobody is shooting my brother," Dean coldly replies.

"He's not gonna be your brother much longer. You said it yourself," Duane retorts.

"Nobody's shooting anybody."

"You were gonna shoot me!"

"You don't shut your pie hole, I still might!"

"Dean, they're right. I'm infected. Just give me the gun and I'll do it myself," Sam interrupts and Shia stares at him.

"Forget it." Dean and Shia said in unison.

"Guys, I'm not gonna become one of those things."

"Sam, we still have time," Shia tells him and the Sergeant turns to her.

"Time for what? Look, I understand that he's your friend and I'm sorry. I am. But I've gotta take care of this," the Sergeant says, pulling out his gun.

"I'm gonna say this one time. You make a move on him, you'll be dead before you hit the ground, you understand me? Do I make myself clear," Dean angrily tells the Sergeant.

"Dean," Sam says and is ignored.

"Then what are we supposed to do," the Sergeant asks and Dean grabs Shia's hand, placing the Impala's keys in her fist.

"Get the hell outta here, that's what. You've got the explosives, there's an arsenal in there, you three go with her. You've got enough firepower to handle anything now."

"I'm not leaving either of you." Shia sternly says.

"Yes, you are. You are going to get in my car, lead these people to safety, and then go to the Roadhouse or to Bobby's and tell them what happened. You are going to walk out that door and not come back for me or for Sam."

"No, Dean. I can't-"

"You're pregnant! You're not about to put our child in danger because you want to stay with us." Dean shouts, Shia flinched at Dean's tone, looking at Shia his face soften. "Baby, I need to know you two are safe. Okay? You can't stay here."

"This baby needs his or her father..."

"Go somewhere, find someone new. Raise the baby to do great things."

"What are you saying?" Shia says with her voice breaking.

"I don't know. Just go." Dean says before giving his girl, the love of his life one last kiss. Shia walked over to Sam a gave him a tight hug. Dean grabbed Shia and lightly shoved her out the room and locked the door behind her. Shia stares at his back through the window, before reluctantly turning around to find everyone else in the waiting room. Clutching the Impala car keys, Shia walks out of the clinic. She looks around the silent street. People that had been there a few hours ago, were gone. Not even a cricket chirped. "There's no one here."

"Where do you think everyone went," the Sergeant asks her and she shrugs.

"There's no telling. It's just like everyone vanished or left," Shia answers.

"What if they're just hiding," Duane asks. Shia resists the urge to hit him.

"If they were hiding, then when we stepped out here, they would have attacked us. Nobody's here, it's just us," Shia tells him and walks back into the clinic. She walks to the room that Dean and Sam were in and knocks on the door. Dean opens the door and frowns at her. "You need to come outside and see this." They follow her outside where the others were still standing, looking around the town. Dean glances at the telephone pole with the word 'croatoan' carved into it.

Soon after getting everything situated the trio finds out that Sam was immune to the demon virus.

It's later in the afternoon and the three of them are by a river, having a few beers and water. Shia's sitting on the fence, leaning against one of the posts. Sam and Dean were standing behind her. "So...last night. You wanna tell me what the hell you were talking about," Sam asks and Shia looks at Dean a questioning look on her face while her hand rest on her stomach.

"What do you mean," Dean replies, not looking at her.

"What do I mean? I mean, you said you were tired of the job. And that it wasn't just because of Dad."

"Dean, babe, what is he talking about," Shia asks him.

"Nothing," Dean tells her and looks at Sam. "Forget it."

"No, I can't. No way," Sam counters.

"Come on, man, I thought we were both gonna die. You can't hold that over me."

"No, no, no. You can't pull that crap with me, man. You're talking."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do."

"I don't know, man. I just think maybe we oughta...go to the Grand Canyon."

"What?"

"Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth, cross-country. You know I've never been to the Grand Canyon? Or we could go to T.J. or Hollywood, see if we can bang Lindsay Lohan." Dean said but seen Shia raise her eyebrow. "Well, you can bang Lindsay."

"Dean, just spit it out already," Shia says.

"I'm saying we should take a break from all this. You know go back to Bobby's...Watch Shia's baby bump grow. Have our kid. Raise more kids after our first. You can go back to school and find someone else to be with. Why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibility, you know? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

"Why are you saying all this," Sam asks him and Shia silently watches as Dean starts to walk away. "No, no, no. Dean, you're my brother, all right? So, whatever weight you're carrying...let me help a little bit."

"I can't. I promised."

"Who?"

"Dad."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right before Dad died...he told me something. He told me something about you."

"What? Dean, what did he tell you," Sam demands.


	25. Chapter 25: Playthings (2x11)

"So, wait, let me get this straight." Shia says as she puts a plate of food in front of Dean and Sam. "Sammy, you ran off. Yeah? And Dean, you went looking for him...then you found him...but Gordo..."

"Gordon." Dean said correcting his girlfriend.

"Whatever," Shia mumbled. "Gordon was trying to kill Sam, you got to him...he kept you as hostage...then...Sam came to save you. Now, the guy is in jail."

"Yeah, that sums it up." Sam said grabbing his cup of water.

"I leave you guys for a two weeks and I miss all the action. Dean, why the hell didn't you tell me Sam went missing?!"

"I didn't want to stress you out." Dean answered.

"Oh yeah, you really aren't stressing me out right now." Shia sarcastically says. Dean and Shia started to argue a bit while Sam sat there looking between the couple, his attention went towards the kitchen backdoor as Tanner entered the room, she looked different from when he saw her last. Tanner went from looking like a kid to looking like the young adult she is, her hair was now shoulder length, she shows more skin, she had more of a serious appearance.

"Sam?" Sam heard Tanner's voice pull him out of his small trance.

"Yeah?"

"You were staring at me. Is there a problem?" Tanner politely asked, she smiled at him. Sam smiled back as he shock his head.

"No, no problem." Sam said.

"Oh. Okay, well, I'm just going to grab a shower and then go into the library and read some more...answer phones...become book smart on the supernatural. You know, because hunters like you usually need help sometimes." Tanner joked a bit, Sam smiled at her again, just being with her made him feel things he haven't felt in a while.

All cleaned up and in the library, Tanner sat there flipping through pages in this Greek mythology book; she came across a section called "The Fate Of Mankind." It reads 'One female born of a human and God or Goddess shall conceive the fate of mankind. May it be a blessing or curse, whichever side consumes it first.'

"What are you reading?" Sam asks. Puzzled, Tanner looks up from the book.

"Oh nothing. It's just this thing...what are you doing up? Aren't you supposed to be leaving first thing in the morning?"

"I couldn't sleep. I keep thinking about Ava." Sam answers sitting down beside Tanner. Tanner slowly closes her book.

"Well, who's Ava?" Tanner asks feeling a spark of jealousy light up inside her.

"She's a girl that yellow eyes after her too. It's like he's building an army of freaks."

"Sam, you're not a freak. No one is. I'm sure you'll find her, I promise...whether it's later or tomorrow...either way...you'll find her." Tanner said laying a hand on Sam's leg, she turned to face Sam and faces were inches apart. 'Should I kiss him?' Tanner thought to herself. 'Should I kiss her?' Sam thought, they both leaned into each other but before their lips touched a certain someone walks in the room.

"What the hell are you guys doing up?" Shia says tiredly. "Guys, we leave in the morning. You both need rest. Okay? Come on, up to bed now."

Tanner and Sam both looked at each with amusement, Shia sounds like a mom already.

"Okay, mother." Tanner said walking past Shia with Sam.

"What does she mean we? She must be tired, she doesn't know what she was saying." Sam whispered to Tanner as they walked up the stairs.

"Well, she's not too tired considering that she was speaking the truth," Tanner said softly opening the door to where her a Sam share a room.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means that I'm coming with you guys, I have my bag packed and everything. I wanted to surprise you, but Ms. Preggo ruined it."

"Really?" Sam asked smiling at the young 'hunter'.

"Yes, really. Now, go on, let's get some sleep." Tanner said as she laid down in her bed drifting off to sleep.

They pull up in front of the large hotel and Shia examines the old building. To her, it was just like every other mansion on the east coast. With exception that it was a hotel. They get out and gather their gear from the Impala's trunk. "Dude, this is sweet! We never get to work jobs like this," Dean comments as they start walking towards the hotel.

"Like what," Sam asks him.

"Old-school haunted houses, you know? Fog, secret passageways, sissy British accents. We might even run into Fred and Daphne-"

"Don't you have like this weird crush on Daphne?" Shia interrupts him placing her hand on her hips.

"You do realize that she's a cartoon, right?" Tanner asks Dean placing a hand on her hip. At that moment Dean saw a small resemblance between his girlfriend and Tanner. Dean shrugged at the two sister, then he reaches down and grabs his bag that him and Shia shares.

"I'm not so sure 'haunted' is the problem," Sam comments and they turn to where he is pointing to an urn.

"What are you talking about," Shia asks him, moving to stand next to him.

"You see this pattern here? That's a quincunx. It's a five-spot."

"A five-spot," Dean asks.

"It's used for hoodoo spell work. Fill the urn with bloodweed and you have a powerful charm to keep enemies away," Tanner explains, Sam turns to her a gives her a half smile. 'Impressive.' He thought.

"Yeah, except I don't see any bloodweed. Don't you think this place is a little too white-meat for hoodoo?"

"Maybe," Sam replies. They enter the motel and walk over to the front desk where a woman was standing.

"May I help you," the woman asks them and Shia notices the nameplate, reading that the woman's name was Susan.

"Hi, yeah. We'd like a room for a couple of nights," Dean answers as a little girl runs by them. The girl bumps into Sam, but keeps running.

"Hey," Susan scolds and turns to them. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Sam replies.

"Well, seems like you'll having a small child bouncing around someday." She said smiling at Shia obviously talking about her very noticeable baby bump.

"Yeah, one of these days." Shia said sending a smile to Susan.

"Anyways, congrats to you all, my final customers at this beautiful place."

"That's a little ominous," Tanner comments, pulling out her credit card.

"No, I'm sorry. I mean we're closing at the end of the month. Let me guess - you're here antiquing?"

"Yes, we are. Me, my sister, and our best friends," Tanner answers and Susan gives her a smile. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, you just look the type." Shia and Tanner inwardly smirks. They knew exactly what Susan thought of Sam and Dean. "So, two rooms with a king sized bed in each?"

"No, no, uh, no, one room with two doubles," Sam says. He motions between himself and Dean. "We're just brothers."

Dean puts his arm around Shia's shoulders and pulls her against his side. "Oh...oh, I'm so sorry," Susan replies, flushing with embarrassment.

"What'd you mean that we look the type," Dean asks, Shia smiles and kiss his neck softly letting him know to drop it. Tanner looked away to grin for a minute about Susan assuming Sam and Dean were homosexuals.

"You know, speaking of antiques, you have a really interesting urn on the front porch. Where did you get that," Sam asks, saving Susan any further embarrassment.

"You know I have no idea. It's been there forever. Here you go, Miss Jones," Susan answers. She hands Tanner a key. "You'll be staying in Room 237." An older man, wearing a suit walks into the room and Tanner raises an eyebrow. "Sherwin, could you show our guests to their rooms?"

"Let me guess - antiquers," Sherwin asks them. He takes their bags and the key from Tanner, then they follow him up the stairs to their room. Before walking up the stairs Shia and Tanner shared a grin.

"I can give you a hand with that bag," Dean says, as Sherwin drags the weapons bag behind him.

"I've got it."

"Okay."

"So, the hotel's closing up, huh," Sam asks him.

"Yep. Susan tried to make a go of it, but the guests just don't come like they used to. Still, it's a damn shame."

"What do you mean," Shia asks Sherwin.

"It may not look it anymore, but this place was a palace. Two different vice presidents laid their heads on our pillows. My parents worked here. I practically grew up here - gonna miss it. Here's your room," Sherwin unlocks the door and they enter the room. Shia, Sam and Tanner turn to see Sherwin holding his hand out and Dean staring at him. "You're not gonna cheap out on me, are you, boy?"

"Dean, just pay the man." Shia says walking over to Dean's side. Dean groaned softly and pulled out a ten dollar bill. Sherwin smiled and walked out the door.

"I hope you know that was a bit of out 'going out' money." Dean frowned looking down at Shia, she just shrugged and walked over to the bed to start unpacking some things.

Dean kisses Shia's cheek and she looks at him. "There's your wedding dress, babe." Dean motions to the vintage dress smiling.

"Yeah, that is beautiful, but I'll never get married." Shia said turning back to continue what she was doing.

"What makes you think you'll never get married?"

"I don't know, Dean. Can we not talk about this right now?" Dean nodded letting the conversation go for now, but he would want to talk about everything soon. He mentioned marriage and hit a nerve, which is odd knowing that a wedding is what she dreams of.

"All right. Victim number one - Joan Edison, forty-three years old, a realtor, handling the sale of the hotel," Sam explains to Dean, Shia, and Tanner.

"And victim number two was Larry Williams, moving some stuff out to Goodwill." Tanner finished for Sam. "I read over the case before we got here." Sam gave her a half smile, Tanner never fails to impress him.

"Well, there's a connection. They're both tied up in shutting the place down." Shia said sitting down on the bed.

"Yeah. Maybe someone here doesn't wanna leave and they're using hoodoo to fight back." Sam stated.

"Who do you think the witch doctor is? That Susan lady?"

"She's selling the place, Dean," Shia comments, standing up from one of the beds.

"So, what then? Sherwin?"

"I don't know," Sam answers.

"Of course, the most troubling question is, 'Why do these people assume we're gay?'"

"Maybe because you're a bit butch, and Sam is a bit feminine." Shia says grinning.

"I couldn't agree more, Shia." Tanner says sending a wink towards Sam.

"Right." Dean says sitting down beside Shia. Tanner walked in the bathroom still smiling at the two brothers.

Sam, Dean, and Tanner are walking down the hallway. After going over the research and deciding to stay behind, Shia had made the suggestion that Sam, Tanner, and Dean should explore the hotel. She mostly likely suggested because she was super tired and wanted some peace and quiet in the room. Sam stops, noticing something on the vase. "Hey. Look at that. More hoodoo."

Dean knocks on a door that had a sign that read private and Susan answers. "Hi there."

"Hi. Everything okay with your room," Susan asks them.

"Uh, yeah, everything is great," Tanner answers as Dean and Sam do the same.

"Good. Well, I was just in the middle of packing, so-"

"Hey, are those antique dolls," Dean asks and Tanner notices the wall of dolls in the room. "Cause this one here..." Dean pushes Tanner forwards and she tensely grins. "She's got a major doll collection back home. Don't ya, kid?"

"Yep, a huge doll collection," Tanner answers, silently thinking of ways to get back at Dean.

"You think we could come in and take a look?"

"I don't know," Susan replies.

"Please. I mean she loves them. She's not gonna tell you this, but she's always dressing them up in these little, tiny outfits, and you'd make her day." Dean turns to her and Tanner, and Sam stares at him. "She would, huh? Huh?"

Tanner turns to Susan. "It - it really would."

"Okay. Come on in." Susan moves from the door and they enter the room.

"All right. All right...wow. This is a lot of dolls. Nice, you know - not super-creepy at all," Dean comments.

"Yeah, I suppose they are a little creepy. But they've been in the family forever. A lot of sentimental value."

Sam notices a dollhouse sitting on the coffee table. "What is this? The hotel?"

"Yeah, that's right. Exact replica, custom-built," Susan answers and Sam sees a doll with a head turned backwards, showing it to Tanner and Dean.

"His head got twisted around. What happened to it?"

"Tyler, probably," Susan tells him as the little girl from earlier runs into the room.

"Mommy, Maggie's being mean," Tyler says.

"Tyler, tell her I said to be nice, okay?"

"Hey, Tyler. I see you broke your doll. You want me to fix it," Sam asks Tyler.

"I didn't break it. I found it like that," Tyler tells him. Tanner smirks at the tone in the girl's voice.

"Oh. Well, maybe Maggie did it."

"No, neither of us did it. Grandma would get mad if we broke them."

"Tyler, she wouldn't get mad," Susan tells Tyler.

"Grandma," Dean asks.

"Grandma Rose. There were all her toys," Tyler answers.

"Oh really...where's Grandma Rose now?"

"Up in her room."

"I'd really like to talk to Rose about her amazing doll-" Tanner starts to asks before Susan interrupts.

"No," Susan sternly says and Tanner frowns slightly. "I mean...I'm afraid that's impossible. My mother's been very sick and she's not taking any visitors."

"Oh, I'm sorry. But, uh, thanks for letting me look at the dolls. So, we're just going to leave you to pack," Tanner tells Susan and the three of them leave the room, heading back down the hallway towards their room.

"Well, what do you think? Dolls, hoodoo, mysterious shut-in grandma," Dean comments.

"Well dolls are used in all kinds of voodoo and hoodoo, like curses and binding spells," Sam answers and Tanner nods in agreement trying to be very quiet for the sleeping Shia.

"Yeah, maybe we've found our witch doctor. We'll go see what we can dig up on Booming Granny. You get online, check old obits, freak accidents, that sort of thing. See if she's whacked anybody before."

"Right."

"And don't go surfing porn, that's not the kind of whacking I mean," Dean tells him and Tanner rolls her eyes, grabbing her bag off the bed and following Dean out of the room.

"What was up with the whole doll thing," Tanner demands, once they're outside the hotel. "I hate dolls just as much as I hate clowns."

"Yeah, I know, my girlfriend told me about your fear of dolls. Ha, I also know about your little crush on Sam." Dean stated walking off a little, Tanner there for a moment with her fave getting red. They knew about her crush on Sam?

Tanner and Dean walk up to Susan, having just gotten back from the local library to see the cops and corner loading a body in a van. Of course while she researched, Dean had talked to the pretty librarian. And Tanner felt smug at the fact that the librarian had no interest in Dean. She secretly wondered how Shia could put up with Dean's flirting at times. "What happened," Dean asks Susan.

"The maid went in to turn down the sheets and he was just…" Susan rubs her arms, trying to give herself some form of comfort. "Hanging there."

"That's horrible. Was he a guest?," Tanner softly asks.

"He worked for the company that bought the place. I don't understand."

"What," Dean asks.

"I've had a lot of bad luck around here. Look, if you'd like to check out, I'll give you a full refund."

"No, thanks. We don't scare that easy," Dean answers and they walk into the hotel. They quietly walk up the stairs and enter the room. Sam was sitting in the dark, staring at the wall. Tanner turns on a lamp and he blinks at the fluorescent light fills the room. "There's been another one. Some guy just hung himself in his room."

"Yeah. I saw," Sam replies.

"Did you find anything online? And where's Shia?," Tanner asks him.

"You're super short."

Tanner stares at him. "Sam, are you drunk?"

Sam shrug. "Yeah. So? Stupid."

"Dude, what are you thinking? We're working a case. And where the hell is my girlfriend?," Dean angrily demands.

"That guy who hung himself - I couldn't save him," Sam tearfully answers and Tanner lets out a sigh.

"What are you talking about? You didn't know, you couldn't have done anything."

"That's an excuse, Dean. I should've found a way to save him. I should've saved Ava, too."

"Sam, you can't save everyone," Tanner softly tells him. "And you know that."

"No, Tan, you don't understand, all right? The more people I save, the more I can change."

"Change what," Dean asks him.

"My destiny, Dean!"

"All right, time for bed. Come on, Sasquatch." Dean grabs Sam and pushes him towards the bed.

"I need you to watch out for me."

"Yeah. I always do."

"No, no, no. You both have to watch out for me, all right? And if I ever turn into something that I'm not...you have to kill me."

"Sam..."

"Dean, Dad told you do it. You have to."

"Yeah, well, Dad's an ass. He never should've said anything. I mean, you don't do that, you don't lay that kind of shit on your kids."

"No, he was right to say it. Who knows what I might become? Even now, everyone around me dies!"

"Well, I'm not dying, Tanner and Shia not dying. Your little niece or nephew won't be leaving where they're here, okay? And neither are you. Come on." Dean pushes Sam on the bed. Tanner lets out a sigh.

"No, please. Dean, you're the only one who can do it. Promise."

"Don't ask that of me."

"Dean, please. You have to promise me."

"I promise," Dean says after a moment and Sam drunkenly hugs him.

"Thanks. Thank you," Sam replies and lies down on the bed. Dean stands there for a moment.

"I'm gonna go try to find my girlfriend. You'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tanner tells him. Dean nods and walks out of the room. She grabs her laptop of out her bag and sits down on the bed Shia and Dean was sharing.

"Tan." She looks over to find Sam staring at her.

"You okay?"

"Come here." Tanner sits down on the edge of their bed. He pulls her farther onto the bed and rests his head in her lap. "I love you...I wish you'd love me back."

She looks down at him. A mixture of confusion, hurt, admiration, love was on her face. Tanner sighs and runs her hand through his hair. "I love you too, Sam."

Walking out the hotel, Dean sees a familiar person leaning on the back of the impala watching the sunset.

"Shia?" Dean ask softly, Shia turned around. Dean noticed the soft tear stains on her face. "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Sam's drunk, isn't he?" Dean nodded at Shia's question.

"Why am I even on this case? I haven't been doing anything but resting." Shia said.

"What? Babe, you've done enough."

"Dean, I'm always tired. I'm only sixteen weeks pregnant. I'm weak, and tired. That's scary. I don't know what's wrong with me, it started a week ago. Dreams of the future, things that could happen to me during this pregnancy... I'm so scared."

"We'll figure something out, don't stress over it. Just know that nothing will happen to any of us. Not on my watch. You and OUR baby will be safe. I promise you that. I love you." Dean told Shia, Dean leaned over and gently pulled his girlfriend over to him, holding her as she nuzzled his neck. "Shia, babe, it's getting cold out. How about we go back in and snuggle while I rub your belly?"

Smiling softly to herself, Shia nodded. "That sounds good to me, babe."

Tanner searches through her bag and pulls out a bottle of aspirin as Dean walks over to the bathroom the next morning. "How you feeling, Sammy," Dean asks and gets a groan in response. "I guess mixing whiskey and Jager wasn't a such a gang buster idea, was it? I bet you don't remember a thing from last night, do you?"

"Ugh, I can still taste the tequila," Sam groans out.

"You know, there's a really good hangover remedy. It's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray."

"Oh, I hate you."

Shia rolls her eyes as Tanner passes her the Aspirin, she walks over to the bathroom. "Catch. Aspirin always help with the headache," Shia says and Sam catches the bottle.

"Hey, it turns out when Grandma Rose was a tyke, she had a Creole nanny who wore a hoodoo necklace," Dean explains to them.

"Think she taught Rose a thing or to?"

"Yes, I do."

"All right. I think it's time we talk to Rose, then," Sam replies, standing up, leaning against the door. Dean and Shia take a couple of steps away from him, Tanner watched as she sat on the bed, she couldn't help the grin coming out her mouth.

"Sam, baby, you need to brush your teeth first," Shia tells him covering her nose.

They arrive at Susan's door and Sam knocks on it. "Hello? Susan," Sam asks and silence is heard. "All clear?"

"Uh huh," Tanner answers, looking around. The door opens and the four of them enter the apartment. Dean opens another door and they walk up the stairs until they see an old woman sitting in a wheelchair in the dark.

"Mrs. Thompson? Mrs. Thompson? Rose?" They walk around to front of the chair and Shia sees that Rose is very scared. "Hi, Mrs. Thompson. We're not here to hurt you, it's okay. We...Rose?" Rose tries to speak but is unable Tanner and Shia pull Sam and Dean away.

"She's had a stroke, so it can't be her," Tanner whispers. Sam nods in agreement. "Hoodoo is hands on, you have to mix herbs, chant, build an altar."

"Might not even be hoodoo," Sam comments.

"You know, she could be faking," Dean tells them and Shia stares at him.

"What are you going to do? Poke her with a stick, babe," Shia asks him and Dean nods. "Dean! You're not gonna poke that poor lady with a stick!"

"What the hell? What are you doing in here," a voice demands and they turn to see that Susan had entered the room.

"Oh, we just wanted to talk to Rose," Sam quickly explains to Susan.

"Look at her, she is scared out of her wits. I want you people out of my hotel in two minutes or I'm calling the cops," Susan angrily tells them and they leave the room.

Tanner, Shia and Dean reach Sam and Susan, as Sam helps Susan up. They had stayed hidden in the bushes after parking the Impala out of view from any of the hotel's windows. But the moment Susan's car had started towards her, Sam had rushed out to help. "You okay," Sam asks Susan.

"I think so," Susan answers.

"Come on, come on. Let's get inside," Dean tells them and they quickly enter the hotel, moving to the dining room.

"Whiskey," Susan says as Shia and Tanner move behind the bar.

"I know the feeling," Tanner reassures Susan.

"What the hell happened out there?"

"You want the truth," Dean asks Susan.

"Of course."

"Well, at first, we thought it was some sort of a hoodoo curse. But that out there? That was definitely a spirit," Dean explains.

"You're insane," Susan says, as Tanner hands her the drink.

"So, we've been told," Shia comments.

"Look, I'm sorry, Susan. We don't exactly have time to ease you into this. But we need to know when your mother had the stroke," Sam says and Susan looks at him.

"What does that have to do with anything," Susan asks.

"Just answer the question."

"About a month ago."

"Right before the killings began," Sam comments and turns to them. "See? So, what if Rose was working hoodoo, but not to hurt anyone, to protect them?"

"She was using the five-spot urns to ward off a spirit," Dean reasons.

"Until she had a stroke and was unable to continue," Shia finishes.

Susan looks at the four of them. "I don't believe this."

"Listen, sister, that car didn't try to run you down by itself, okay," Dean replies and Susan shakes her head in disbelief. "Well, I guess it did, technically, but a spirit can - forget it."

"Just believe what you want, all right? But the fact is you and your family are in danger. So you need to clear everybody out of her - your employees, your mother, your daughters, everyone," Sam says to Susan.

"Um, I only have one daughter," Susan corrects.

"One," Tanner asks, confused.

"I thought Tyler had a sister named Maggie," Dean asks.

"Maggie's imaginary," Susan explains and they exchange a look.

"Where's Tyler," Sam asks.

"Her room," Susan answers and stands up, before running out of the dining room. The four of them follow Susan up to Tyler's room and enter to see that most of the dolls are broken. "Oh my God. Tyler! Tyler! She's not here!"

"Susan, what do you know about Maggie," Shia asks the frantic mother.

"Not much. Tyler's been talking about her since Mom got sick."

"Did you know someone with that name?"

"No."

"Think, think. Maybe somebody that could have lived here, might have passed away," Dean asks.

"Oh my God. My mom. My mom had a sister named Margaret. She barely spoke about her."

"Did Margaret happen to die here when she was a kid," Sam asks.

"She drowned in the pool," Susan answers.

"Come on," Dean says and the four of them exit the room. They run out the hotel and to the pool house. When they arrive they can see Tyler standing on the ledge through the class doors.

"Tyler," Susan shouts as Sam and Dean try to break down the door. "Tyler!"

"Come on!"

"Mommy," Tyler shouts before falling off the ledge.

"Is there another entrance," Dean asks Susan.

"Around back," Susan answers.

"All right, let's go. You guys keep working."

"Go," Shia tells him and Susan shows Dean to the other entrance.

"Sam, stand back, I'm going to break the glass." Tanner said as she allowed her eyes to go golden for her to use her powers. Sam pushes the glass away and runs onto the ledge, before jumping off the ledge into the pool, as he gets through the door. Tanner and Shia rush down the stairs as Dean and Susan enter the pool house. Sam lays a limp Tyler on the edge of the pool and they wait in a tense silence until the little girl coughs up water.

"Oh, thank God! Thank God," Susan breathes out and tightly embraces her daughter.

"Mommy," Tyler says.

"Yeah, baby, I'm here!"

"Tyler, do you see Maggie anywhere," Sam asks.

"No, she's gone," Tyler answers and they let out a relived sigh.

Shia, Tanner, Dean, and Sam walk over to where Susan was watching the coroners put her mother's body in the truck. Susan had found her mother not breathing and they had rushed up to see what had happened. "The paramedics said it was another stroke. You think Margaret could have had something to do with it," Susan asks them.

"We don't know," Dean answers.

"But it's possible," Sam counters and gives Susan a sad smile. "Susan, I'm sorry."

"God, you have nothing to apologize for. You've given me everything," Susan tells him as Tyler comes outside. Susan puts an arm around her and pulls her close. "Ready to go, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Tyler says.

"Tyler, are you sure that Maggie isn't around anymore," Tanner asks the little girl.

"I'm sure. I'd see her," Tyler tells her as they walk to a taxi.

"Well, I guess whatever's going on must be over," Dean reasons and Shia nods.

"You two take care of yourselves, all right," Sam says to Susan, who gives him a hug.

"Thank you. All of you. And you take care of that baby," Susan tells them, motioning towards Shia's stomach when speaking to her, Susan hurried to get in the taxi cab.

"I think you could've hooked up some MILF action there, man," Dean comments and Tanner rolls her eyes, as they start walking over to the Impala.

"Yeah, that's all she needs," Sam retorts.

"Well, you saved the mom, you saved the girl - not a bad day. Of course, you know I could've saved her myself, but I didn't want you to feel useless." Dean grinned as he pulled Shia close to him by wrapping his arm around her waist.

Sam scoffs. "All right, I appreciate it."

"Feels good to get back in the saddle, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it does. But it doesn't change what we talked about last night."

"We talked about a lot of things last night."

"You know what I mean."

"Sam, you were drunk," Tanner and Shia comment in unison.

"But Dean wasn't," Sam says to her and looks at his brother. "And you promised." Sam gets in the Impala with Tanner climbing into the backseat. Shia looks at Dean.

"You're not going to have to do anything," Shia quietly tells him and climbs into the backseat of the Impala. Dean stands there for a minute, before getting in the driver's seat.


	26. Chapter 26: Nightshifter (2x12)

Three weeks ago

"You know at thirteen weeks, I should be able to tell you the sex of the baby." Michael told his sister as he placed cold gel on her growing stomach.

"But she's twenty weeks." Dean said standing right beside Shia.

"Yeah, is something wrong with my baby?"

"No, it's very healthy, but he or she won't turn around so I can see whether if it's a he or she." Michael said with small smile, the room was filled with the sound of the baby's heartbeat. Dean grabbed Shia's hand and smiled, he couldn't believe his eyes or ears; the fact that his baby was alive and well made him happy. Although he might feel that he's not ready for a baby, he couldn't wait to see his son or daughter.

"Okay, guys, the baby is healthy. Shia, you're doing just fine. I'm scheduling your appointment for next month. You both take care, I have to go. I have four other women to examine."

"Thanks, Michael. It means a lot to me and Dean."

"Yeah, thanks, man." Dean said softly to Michael still looking at the pictures that Michael printed out for them of their baby.

"Are you going to stare at the sonogram all day or are we going to leave?" Shia said giggled to herself, Dean gave her a look and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, come on, let's go."

(Present Time)

"Helena was our head buyer. She - she was family, you know? She said it herself. Every year at the Christmas party, she said we were the only family she had," the man working at the jewelry store explains to Shia and Sam while Dean was talking to the other employee. The mysterious death of a woman who worked there caught their attention a couple of days ago.

"Helena never displayed any signs that she'd do anything like this," Shia asks. To her, robbing a jewelry store and committing suicide a few hours later meant that something was definitely up.

"No," the man answers. "I still can't believe it, even now. That night, Helena came back to the store after closing, cleaned out all the display cases and the safe. Edgar, our night watchman - he caught her in the act. He didn't know what to do. He'd known her for years. He called me at home."

"And that's when she took his gun," Sam asks.

"She shot him in the face. I heard him die through the phone."

"What do you think her motive was," Shia asks.

"What motive? It makes no sense. Why steal all those diamonds, all that jewelry, then what? Just dump it somewhere? Just hide and it and then go home and..." He shakes his head. "It makes no sense."

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary on the security tapes?"

"Uh, well..."

"So, you never saw the security camera footage yourself, then," Sam asks him.

"The police - they took all the tapes, first thing."

"Lovely," Shia mutters. The man stares at her. She tensely smiles back in return. Dean joins them and she notices the other employee, a pretty young woman, staring at him. Sam shoots him an annoyed look. Dean shrugs as Shia rolls her eyes before walking outside.

"Did you get number, Dean?" Shia asked Dean, he turned to her with a small smile.

"No, I didn't get her number. She flirted with me though."

"Of course she did." Shia said as she got in the front seat of the impala, slamming the door.

"What did I do?" Dean asked Sam. Sam gave Dean his bitch face that said 'Dude, you let some chick flirt with you.' "Oh come on, Sam, chicks flirt with me all the time."

"Yeah, well, your girlfriend is pregnant and very emotional." Sam told his brother before getting in the backseat of the impala. Dean thought about everything for a moment and rolled his eyes. 'I'll make it up to her later.' He thought to himself.

The small white house they pull up in front of was in an area where many of the houses looked like they were built in fifties. The front yard was fenced in. "This is it," Sam says, climbing out of the Impala. He drops the file in the front seat.

"I hate when cops make everything so difficult," Shia comments trying to make her outfit suit her comfortably, Dean watched her do it and couldn't help but smile.

"They're just doing their job, Shia."

"No, they're doing our job, only they don't know it, so they suck at it," Dean counters as they walk up to the front door. "Talk to me about this bank."

"Milwaukee National Trust - it was hit about a month ago."

"Same M.O. as the jewelry store?"

"An employee who would never do it," Shia says. "Guy robs the place, goes home, and commits suicide."

"And this guy, Resnick - he was a security guard on duty?"

"Yeah. He was actually beaten unconscious by the teller who heisted the place."

"Poor guy," Shia mutters.

Sam nods. He knocks on the door. "Mr. Resnick? Ronald Resnick?" A bright light suddenly comes on. Shia holds up a hand to block the light from her face because she could easily get a headache nowadays. A man with curly shoulder length hair appears behind the glass door. "FBI, Mr. Resnick."

"Let me see the badge," Ronald replies. The three of them pull out their badges and slam them against the door. "I already gave my statement to the police."

"Yeah, listen, Ronald," Dean begins. "There's just some things about your statement we wanted to get some clarification on."

"You read it?"

"Of course we read it," Shia answers.

"Come to listen to what I've gotta say?"

"Well, that's why we're here," Dean tells him.

Ronald stares at them for a moment, then opens the door. "Come on in." The house was small and was filled with science fiction memorabilia. An old TV and couch were in the living. The coffee table was covered in magazines she had never heard of. Dean sits down on the couch. "None of the cops ever called me back. Not after I told them what was really going on. They all thought I was crazy."

"Well, Mr. Resnick, just start at the beginning," Shia says.

"Juan Morales never robbed the Milwaukee National Trust, okay? That I guarantee. See, me and Juan were friends. He used to come back to the bank on my night shifts and we'd play cards."

"So, you let him into the bank than," Sam questions. "After hours."

"The thing I let into the bank...wasn't Juan. I mean, it had his face, but it wasn't his face. Every detail was perfect, but too perfect, you know, like if a doll maker made it. Like I was talking to a big Juan doll."

"A Juan doll?"

Ronald hands Sam a file. "Look. This wasn't the only time this happened, okay? There was this jewelry store, too, and the cops and you guys - you just won't see it. Both crimes were pulled by the same thing."

"And what's that, Mr. Resnick," Shia asks.

Ronald picks up one of the magazines. The headline read 'Birth of the Cybermen.' "Chinese have been working on it for years. And the Russians before that - part-man, part-machine. Like the Terminator, but the kind that can change itself, make itself look like other people."

"Like the one from T2," Dean states.

"Exactly! See, it's not just a robot. It's more of a - a mandroid."

"A mandroid," Sam disbelievingly states.

"What makes you so sure about your theory, Mr. Resnick," Shia asks.

Ronald grabs a tape and puts into the VCR. "See, I made copies of all the security tapes. I knew once the cops got them, they'd be buried. Here." He plays the tape. The footage was grainy, but they watch as Ronald appears on the screen. Another man follows him. "Watch...watch him...watch him. Look! There it is!" Ronald pauses the tape. Juan's eyes were glowing. "You see, he's got the laser eyes. The cops said it was of reflected light, some kind of camera flare. Ain't no damn camera flare. They say I'm post-trauma case. So, what? Bank goes and fires me? It don't matter! The mandroid is still out there! The law won't hunt this thing down, I'll do it myself. You see, this thing - it kills the real person, makes it look like a suicide. Then it sort of morphs into that person, cases the job for a while till it knows the take is fat, and then it finds its opening." Ronald points to a map that was hanging on the wall. "Now, these robberies - they're grouped together, so I figure that the mandroid is holed up somewhere in the middle. Underground, maybe, I don't know. Maybe that's where it recharges it, uh...mandroid batteries!"

Shia glances at Sam and Dean. "Okay," Sam begins. "I want you to listen very carefully. Cause I'm about to tell you the God's honest truth about all of this. There's no such thing as mandroids. There's nothing evil or inhuman going on out there. It's just people. Nothing else, you understand?"

"But...the laser eyes."

"It's just a camera flare, Mr. Resnick. See, I know you don't wanna believe this, but your friend, Juan, robbed the bank and that's it."

An angry look appears on Ronald's face. "Get out of my house! Now!"

Shia sits down on the bed in the motel room. She hated wearing heels when they pretended to be feds or reporters, she hated them more because of the pregnancy. Dean was sitting at the table, drawing on a map to find the next potential target. Sam grabs some beers out of the mini fridge. "Man, that has got to be the kicker, straight up," Dean comments. "You tell that poor son of a bitch that - what did you say? Remand the tapes that he copied? Classified evidence of an ongoing investigation? That's messed up."

"What, are you pissed at me or something," Sam asks, grabbing a chair from the table. The security tape they had taken from Ronald was playing on the TV.

"No, I just think it's a little creepy of how good of a fed you are. Come on, we could've at least thrown the guy a bone. He did some pretty good legwork here."

"Babe. Mandroid?" Shia snorts just before lying down on the bed her and dean shares.

"Except for the mandroid part. I liked him. He's not that different from us. People think we're crazy."

"Yeah, except he's not a hunter, Dean," Sam says. "He's just a guy who stumbled onto something real. If he were to go up against this thing, he'd get torn apart. Better to stay in the dark and stay alive."

"Yeah, I guess."

Sam pauses the tape. "Shape shifter. Just like back in St. Louis. Same retinal reaction to video."

"Eyes flare at the camera. I hate those fucking things."

Shia sits up. "And you think I don't?"

"Yeah, well, one didn't turn into you and frame you for murder."

"Well, one didn't try to kill you or possibly rape you."

"What? When did that happen?" Dean asked.

"The first skinwalker we've ever hunted. You were twenty one, I was about eighteen. Remember?"

"Babe, I-"

"Save it." Dean shut his mouth and looked down. Damn, that's two strikes against him.

"Look," Sam says trying to smooth down the tension. "If the shifter's anything like the one we killed in Missouri-."

"Then Ronald's right," Dean interrupts. "Alright, they like to layer up underground, preferably the sewer. Now, all the robberies have been connected so far, right?" They both nod. "To the sewer main layout." He taps the map. "There's one more bank lined up on that same sewer main."

The employees of the City Bank of Milwaukee were going about their normal routines as the security guard leads Dean, Sam, and Shia through the busy lobby. This time, they were undercover as employees of a security company. "Well, we haven't had any flags go up on our system yet," the guard tells them.

"It's a glitch in the entire system," Shia tells him. "We just wanna make sure that the branch monitors are working."

"Better to be safe than sorry, I guess."

"That's the plan," Dean replies.

They stop in front of plain door. The guard opens it and they enter the small room. Six monitors were on the wall, with two chairs in front of them. "All right. You guys need anything else."

"Oh, no, no," Sam says. "We'll be in and out before you know it. Just a routine check."

"Okey dokey," the guard says before leaving.

Shia closes the door. She rolls her eyes seeing that they had sat down. "I like him," Dean says. "He says 'okey dokey.'"

"And what if he's the shifter, Dean?" Shia counters.

"Well, then we follow him home with a silver bullet in his chest plate." Shia sits on Dean's leg, Dean smiles at his girlfriend as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You're not off the hook. Just letting you know." Shia says softly.

"Yeah, I know." Dean mumbled.

Later in the afternoon, the three of them are still in the security room. "Well, it looks like Mr. Okey Dokey is...okey dokey," Dean comments.

"That was original." Shia tells Dean grinning at him from the spot she was standing in.

"Maybe we jumped the gun on this, Dean," Sam says. "We don't even know it's here. Maybe we should just go back to the sewers and..."

Shia slaps the back of Dean's head. He had zoomed in on of the female employee's butt. "Eyes, Dean."

"I'm getting there. I am a man." Dean counters, zooming out. He turned to look at Shia, she gave him a hard stare. "And if I keep it up, I'll be a very single man."

"Uh huh." Shia agreed.

"Wait a minute." Dean moves the camera over to the bank manager, who has glowing eyes on the screen. "Hello, freak."

"Got him," Sam says, standing up.

"Boys," Shia says. She taps one of the monitors. Ronald was wrapping a chain around the main entrance doors. A rifle was hanging from a strap on his shoulder.

The three of them run out of the security office. "And you said we shouldn't bring guns," Dean says.

"I didn't know this was gonna happen, Dean," Sam argues.

"Just let me do the talking. I don't think he likes you very much, Agent Johnson."

By the time they reach the main lobby, Ronald has everyone kneeling on one side of the lobby. "Now, there's only one way in our out of here, and I chained it up. So nobody's leaving, you understand," Ronald says.

"Hey buddy," Dean greets, holding his hands up. "Calm down. Just calm down."

"What? You?! Get on the floor, now!"

They kneel down, holding their hands up. Shia kneels down slowly, her lower back was starting to hurt because of her pregnancy. "Okay. Just don't shoot anybody, especially us."

"I knew it. As soon as you three left. You ain't FBI. Who are you? Who you working for, huh? The men in black? You working for the mandroid?!"

"We're not working for the mandroid," Sam tells him.

"You, shut up! I ain't talking to you, I don't like you!"

Shia notices the smirk on Dean's face and she rolls her eyes. "Fair enough," Sam replies.

Ronald turns to the group behind him. He points to one of the bank employees. "Get over here. Frisk them down, make sure they've got no weapons. Go!" The employee walks over and pats Sam down first. Sam and Dean unhappily watches as the employee pats down Shia, they both thought the guy was a little too happy with his hands. Sam and Shia watch as the employee pats down Dean and finds a knife in his sock. "Now, what have we here?"

"I'm not just gonna walk in here naked," Dean hisses as the employee hands the knife to Ronald.

"Get back down," Ronald orders after employee drops the knife down a trash chute.

"No, no, no, no," Dean exclaims. "We know you don't wanna hurt anybody. But that's exactly what's gonna happen if you keep waving that cannon around. Now, why don't you let these people go?"

"No! I already told you, if nobody's gonna stop this thing, then I've gotta do it myself!"

"Ronald," Shia cautiously begins. "We believe you. It's why we're here."

"You don't believe me! Nobody believes me! How could they?"

"Come here," Dean says.

"What? No!"

"You're holding the gun, boss, you're calling the shots. I just wanna tell you something. Come here." Cautiously, Ronald walks over to them. "It's the bank manager."

A confused look appears on Ronald's face. "What?"

"Why do you think we got these get ups, huh? We've been monitoring the cameras in the back. We saw the bank manager. We saw his eyes."

"His laser eyes?"

"Yes - no, no! Look, we're running out of time, okay? We've gotta find him before he changes into someone else."

"Like I'm gonna listen to you! You're a damn liar!" Dean slowly stands up. Ronald aims the gun at him. "I'll shoot you, get down!"

"Take me. Take me with you, take me as a hostage. But we've gotta act fast. Cause the longer we just sit here, the more time he has to change. Look at me, man. I believe you. You're not crazy. There really is something inside this bank."

Ronald stares at him. "Alright. You come with me. But everyone else gets in the vault!" Ronald ushers everyone into the bank vault. Shia shares a frustrated look with Sam as he helps her up. "Come on, move! Move, move!" Ronald turns to Dean. "Now, you lock it."

"It's okay, everyone. Just stay cool," Dean says, then closes the door.

"Who is that man?" Shia turns to see a blonde woman behind them. The name tag on her blazer read 'Sherri.'

"My brother," Sam answers. Shia chose not to inform the woman that Dean was her boyfriend, she was too worried about getting out of the vault before she gets sick.

"He is so brave," Sherri gushes.

Shia shakes her head and sits down. Sam reluctantly sits down next to her. "I swear, I'm gonna end up in prison because of someone with the last name Winchester."

"Are you going to kill him?" Sam asked with an amused face.

"Yes." Shia pouted, Sam smiled weakly at her. Slowly sliding down to sit next to her, Sam let out a worried sigh.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, Sam. It's stuffy in here, that's all. Don't worry about me." Sam nodded at Shia's response.

Shia was annoyed. She was hot, sweaty, and five and a half months pregnant. She was frustrated at the turn of events. But at the moment, locked in the bank vault, she was very annoyed. "Has your brother always been so...wonderful," Sherri asks. "I mean, staring down that gun. And, you know, the way he played right into that psycho's crazy head, telling him what he wanted to hear. He's like a real hero or something."

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Shia asks Sherri. "We get it. You want to have sex with my boyfriend for saving your life."

"Your boyfriend?" Sherri asked disappointingly. Shia said nothing, instead she nodded.

The vault door opens and they turn to see Dean. "Oh my God," Sherri exclaims. Shia rolls her eyes. 'Of course she didn't let that information sink in.' "You saved us! You saved us!"

"Actually, I just found a few more," Dean replies. He waves a small gun and group of bank employees enter the vault.

"What are you doing?"

"Sam, Shia. Ronald and I need to talk to you." Shia sighs and follows them out of the vault. Dean closes the vault before turning to them. He had ditched his security costume. "It shed its skin again. We don't know when. Could be in the halls, could be in the vault."

"Great," Shia sarcastically says. "You're a wanted criminal, Dean."

"Yeah."

"So, even if we do find this damn thing, how the hell are we gonna get out of here," Sam asks.

"I don't know, one problem at a time. Alright, Me and Shia are gonna do a sweep of the whole place to see if I can find any stragglers. Once we get everyone together, we've gotta play a little game of 'find the freak.' So, here - I found a couple more of these." Dean holds out silver letter openers and they each take one. "Sam, stay here. Make sure Ronald doesn't hurt anybody. Help him manage the situation."

"Help him manage? Are you insane?"

Dean glances at Ronald, who was standing near a desk. He grins at Ronald. "Look, I know this isn't going the way we wanted it too-"

"Really, Dean," Shia snaps.

"But if we invite the cops in right now, Ronald gets arrested, we get arrested, the shifter gets away. We'll probably never find it again, okay?" Sam motions to Ronald. Dean turns to see Ronald looking out the door, his gun raised. "Ron! Out of the light!"

"Seriously," Sam states.

"Yeah, Ron's gameplay was a bad plan. I mean, it was a bit of a crazy plan, but right now, crazy's the only game in town, okay?" Shia shrugs and runs after Dean. They duck under windows to avoid being seen by the police outside the building.

"Dean," Shia hisses, grabbing his arm. He looks back at her. She motions to an office.

They enter the office. "See something?" She punches him in the arm. "What the fuck, babe?!"

"That's in case I end up having our baby in prison."

"You worry too much." Dean says giving Shia a quick peck on the lips. Dean notices the ceiling tiles above Shia as she shrugs out of her costume. One of them was crooked. He pulls Shia to the side and grabs a coat rack. Dean touches the ceiling tile. A body falls onto the floor between them.

"Dean." He looks up at Shia. "That man is in the vault."

After quickly making their way back to the vault, they find Sam and Ronald standing by the open vault door. The security guard was panting while the shapeshifter was holding him up. Dean walks up to Sam and whispers the information. "You know what, Ronald," Sam begins. "He's right. We've gotta get this man outside. Come on, I've got you."

"Yeah, I'll help you," the shifter says.

"We've got him," Shia says, stepping up to the security guard. She and Sam lead the guard away from the vault. The shapeshifter runs past them, with Ronald following him. Ronald stops in the middle of the lobby.

Sam sees the red dot on the back of Ronald's back. "Ronald," he shouts. "Get down! Now!" A shot rings. Glass shatters. Ronald falls to the ground. Blood pools around him. Sam grabs Shia's arm and pulls her along with the guard over to where Dean is hiding behind one of the counter. "Take care of the guard. I'm going after the shifter."

Dean glances over where Ronald's body was lying. "Sorry, Ron," he quietly says, crawling over. He grabs the rifle. "You did a real good job tracking this thing, you really did." He grabs the guard's arm and leads him over to the door. He undoes the cord around the door and opens it, pushing the guard in front of him.

"Don't shoot," the guard shouts, holding up his hands. "Don't shoot!"

Dean aims the gun at the SWAT team. "No, no, no! Don't even think about it!" He sees the numerous cop cars and helicopters flying around the building. "I said get back, now!" The guard runs across the street and Dean closes the door. He puts the cord back around the door handles. "We are so screwed."

Shia looks up when Dean rejoins her behind the counter. "The guard get out okay?" she softly asks.

"Yeah." He glances over at Ronald's body. "Not our fault, babe."

"I know." Dean holds out his hand and she takes it. Together, they make their way out of the lobby. Shia's cell rings and she pulls it out of her pocket. "Yeah," she asks, putting it on speaker.

"Slipped its skin," Sam tells them.

"What?!" Dean asks.

"Yeah, bastard shifts fast. A lot faster than the one in St. Louis."

"Great. It could be anybody," Shia replies. "Again."

"I think most of the employees are out of the vault by now."

"Alright," Dean begins. "You and Shia search every inch of this place. I'm gonna go round everybody up."

"I hate this stupid case," Shia says, shoving her phone in her pocket. She starts to go down on of the hallways, but stops. "Dean." He looks at her, she quickly walks over to him and gave him a passionate kiss. "Be careful." Dean smiles at her.

"You too."

Shia hides under the desk. She had heard windows breaking and heavy footsteps. The office door opens and she closes her eyes. This was the moment she had always feared. Being handcuffed, dragged away, and locked up in a padded cell somewhere, giving birth in a cell. Footsteps near her. She looks up to find two men dressed in SWAT gear. One of them pulls down the mask. "Sam," Shia disbelievingly asks.

Sam smiles at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Did you get the shifter?"

"It's been taken care of," Dean says from behind his SWAT mask. He grabs Shia's arm and pulls her up. "Be a damsel in distress."

Shia smacks Dean's arm. "You're a damsel in distress." Dean grinned at her, pulling her close to him and giving her a loving kiss.

Sam sighs. "Guys." He pulls down the mask, breaking up the potential make out session. He places a hand on Shia's arm as they follow Dean out of the room. None of them say anything as they pass other SWAT guys. Shia keeps her head down, pretending to be a hostage. They exit through the back door and walk up the stairs to the parking garage.

Once inside the Impala, the guys pull off the masks. "We are so screwed," Dean states from the backseat.

"Babe, why are you back here with me?" Shia asked, but Dean didn't say anything. Sam started the car and they drove off. "Dean?"

"I'm sorry." Dean said.

"I know. It's okay." Shia told him. Dean leaned over and began kissing her again, the kiss became passionate and desperate. They would have continued, but heard someone clear their throat.

"Guys, I can handle cuddling, but no sex while I'm driving." Shia and Dean chuckled at Sam's statement. They decided to sit back and relax until Shia felt something.

"Dean give me your hand!" Shia gasped pulling Dean's hand over her stomach, Dean felt a small kick. He sat there in shock for moment.

"Was that?"

"Yeah. Dean, the baby kicked." Shia announced happily. "Sam, we're going to see if the baby will kick for you later!" Sam nodded.

Sam watched the precious moment between his brother and his pregnant best friend, he thought it was amazing.


	27. Chapter 27: Roadkill (2x16)

Tanner looks at herself in the mirror, the black and purple bruises under her eye will not be going anywhere, any time soon.

"Tanner?" She hears turning to see Sam leaning on the doorway to the bathroom.

"Oh, hey, Sam. What's up? You need anything?" Tanner asked, avoiding eye contact.

"I just," Sam begins to say, clearing his throat. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Tanner turns to look at him, only it was Sam's turn to avoid eye contact with her. Tanner reaches over and grabs Sam's hand in hers.

"Sam, I know you didn't mean to hurt me. It wasn't your fault...you were possessed! I'm more pissed at that demon than I am at you." Tanner admitted. "I must say, you can throw a hell of a punch. No, I mean, you're strong."

"That doesn't help at all." Sam sadly smirks, Tanner reached up and softly kissed Sam on the cheek.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. You're no monster. I promise you."

"But Tan, I could've killed you and Jo. I- when I came here, my intentions were to hurt Shia and the baby."

"Sam, that baby wouldn't even let you near her."

"It still didn't stop Meg from trying."

"What matters is that we're all safe and no one died." Tanner told him, mainly to get him to hush with all that sad talk. She hated hearing him talk that way, it would break her heart each time. "Do you want to go to our room and watch a movie? Bobby put a TV in there the other day, he sort of spoils me like l'm one of his own. Either way, Shia will always be his BABY girl. It's nice to see him treat me as his second though." Sam just watched her go on, and on. He enjoyed watching her talk, he found it amusing when she would babble on about something. It made him feel better.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam answered.

"You spaced out again. Come on, let's get to our room." Tanner said grabbing his hand and running up the stairs.

Meanwhile in Shia's and Dean's room, they both were lying in bed enjoying comfortable silence. Dean reached over and stretched his hand over Shia's 28 weeks pregnant belly, as he did that he could feel his son or daughter moving.

"How does it feel?" Dean asked Shia, she looked in his eyes and gave him a gentle smile.

"Being pregnant? Like butterflies, literally."

"I wonder what he or she is thinking."

"Maybe how to make me feel uncomfortable when I want to sleep tonight." Shia said giggling to herself.

"Babe, can Demi Gods make things appear out of nothing?" Dean asked.

"That was random. Uh, no, not that I heard of. Something much more powerful, maybe. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we ran into a trickster after the whole possessed Sam thing."

"I didn't know about that. Daddy didn't tell me that." Shia said shifting a little to get comfortable.

"We can worry about that later. I have other things on my mind."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Shia said smiling at her seductive boyfriend.

"You. And. Me. Having. Sweet. Passionate. Sex." Dean said with each kiss he placed on Shia's neck.

"Dean, that's how we got in trouble the first time." Shia giggled, as she innocently enjoyed the pleasure Dean was giving her.

"Maybe I like a little trouble." Dean smirked as he kissed Shia slowly but passionately.

"I always knew you were trouble."

The next morning, Sam was downstairs reading up on a potential case while Tanner was making some toast to go with the bacon she made for everyone.

"Mmm. I love the smell of food." Shia said as she wobbled to a spot near Tanner, she was a bit bigger than the average 28 weeks pregnant woman.

"If you keep eating the way you do, you won't be able to walk at all." Tanner joked as she placed the plate full of food on the table.

"I'm eating for two!"

"Two what? Football teams?" Dean joked as he made his way into the kitchen, he grinned to himself seeing his girlfriend pout. He walked up to her, and kissed her softly.

"Last night was amazing." Dean whispered in Shia's ear.

"No, you were amazing." Shia told him kissing him softly again.

"Guys, can you not? I really would like to eat breakfast." Tanner said as she sat in front of Sam with her plate of food, Sam laughed lightly at her comment as he looked over a case he thought sounded interesting.

"Okay, guys, listen to this. Ghost haunts highway, a woman named Molly haunts highway screaming someone is after her."

"That is interesting. What do you think, babe?" Shia asked Dean as he wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled up on her from behind.

"I think it's something we should look into. This is dangerous for people, I mean, we should want to eliminate the threat. Right?" Dean said.

"Sir, yes, sir." Tanner commented, stuffing her face.

"If we're going to do this, we leave in a couple of hours." Sam said stealing some food off of Tanner's plate.

"You in Tanner?"

"No, I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"What? Why?" Shia asked, she was a bit disappointed that her sister would not be joining them this time.

"I need a break, and so do you. I mean, come on, you being pregnant and having a baby in three months, I think it's time for you to slow down." Tanner told her sister, Shia did look hurt for a second but in the end she didn't let it phase her.

"I'll be fine. This baby protects me. You know this already. I can still hunt, I promise." Instead of arguing about it, Shia orbed upstairs and starting packing for the case.

"Dean, you should talk to her about it. Tanner and I are both concerned about her and the baby." Sam said closing his laptop and sipping his coffee he made earlier.

"You both know how she is, her mind is made up. She's going." Dean told them both, he didn't want to be the one to make his girlfriend upset because he knows she could stay upset for a while. If they had something to say, they can address her about it.

Shia yawns as she pulls her peacoat closer. The heat was on full blast in the Impala as they drove a county road in the snowy mountains of west Nevada. They had been driving since the sun went down, searching for the spirit that haunted the road. A woman suddenly appears in the middle of the road. She had dark blonde hair and pale skin. "Holy shit," Dean exclaims, slamming on the breaks. He stops inches away from the woman.

The woman runs over to the passenger side. "You've gotta help me. Please," she yells, hitting the window. "Please!"

Sam rolls down the window. "Alright, calm down. Tell us what happened."

"I swerved and we crashed and when I came to...the car was wrecked, my husband was missing. I went looking for him, but that's when the man from the road - he started chasing me."

"Did he look like he lost a fight with a lawnmower," Dean asks.

A shocked look appears on the woman's face. "How did know that?"

Dean shrugs. "Lucky guess." Shia looked at Dean, she was trying hard not to smile at him. It wasn't a lucky guess.

"Ma'am, what's your name," Sam asks.

"Molly. Molly McNamara," Molly answers.

Shia glances at Dean. "Molly, I think maybe you should come with us," Sam tells her. "We'll take you back into town-"

"I can't. I have to find David, he might've gone back to the car."

"Well, we should get you somewhere safe first and then we'll come back here. We'll look for your husband-"

"No, I'm not leaving here without him. Would you just take me back to my car, please?"

They look at each other. "Of course. Come on."

Shia pushes open the back door, then scoots over behind Dean. She smiles at Molly when Molly eyes goes wide when she noticed Shia's baby bump. They drive down the road until Molly tells Dean to stop. They climb out of the Impala. Molly walks to the side of the road. "It's right over there." Nothing was there. "I don't understand. I'm sure this is where it was. We hit that tree right there. This doesn't make any sense."

"Guys, we've gotta get out of here," Sam whispers. "Greeley could show up at any second."

"What are you gonna tell her," Dean counters.

"The truth."

Shia scoffs as she tugged on her jacket trying to get warm. "Yeah, telling her the should be fun. Sam, she'll think we're nuts."

Molly walks back over to them. "I know it sounds crazy, but I crashed into that tree. I don't know who could've taken it. It was totaled. Please, you have to believe me."

"Molly, listen, we do believe you, alright," Sam reassures. "But that's why we wanna get you out of here."

"No. What about David? Something must've happened. I have to get to the cops."

"The cops, you know what, that's a great idea," Dean says. "In fact, we'll take you down to the station ourselves, okay? So, just come with us. It's the best way we can help you and your husband." Molly tearfully nods and they climbs into the Impala.

"It's gonna be okay," Shia softly tells Molly.

Molly sighs. "We're supposed to be in Lake Tahoe."

"You and your husband?"

Molly nods. "It's our five year anniversary."

"Hell of an anniversary," Dean comments.

"Right before, we were having the dumbest fight. That's the only time we ever really argue, when were stuck in the car."

Shia smiles. "I know how that is, but I usually prefer to argue with my boyfriend in the bedroom. He listens and shuts up, I guess you can say that I wear the pants in the relationship." Sam laughs at the glare Dean sends her in the mirror.

"You know the last thing I said to him? I called him a jerk. Oh, God. What if that's the last thing I said to him?"

Sam turns around in the seat. "Molly...we're gonna figure out what happened to your husband. I promise."

A song suddenly starts playing on the radio. Dean glances at Sam. "Did you..."

"No."

"Great. I was afraid you'd say that."

"This song..." Molly trails off.

"What?"

"It was playing when we crashed." The three of them exchange a look. The song goes off and there's a static voice. Shia frowns. "What is that?"

The four of them see a man standing in the middle of the road. "Hold on," Dean orders, stepping on the gas.

"What are you doing?!" They drive through the man and he vanishes in a cloud of smoke. "What - what the hell just happened?"

"Don't worry, Molly, everything's gonna be alright," Sam tells her.

A rumble comes from the engine. "You spoke too soon, Sammy," Shia comments.

Dean pulls over. He tries restarting the Impala, but nothing happens. "I don't think he's gonna let her leave."

They climb out of the car. Shia shrivers and pulls her coat closer. "This can't be happening," Molly sighs.

"Well, trust me. It's happening," Dean tells her, popping open the trunk.

Molly starts backing away after she sees the weapons. "Well, okay. Thanks for helping, but I think I've got it covered from here."

Sam goes after her. "Molly, wait a minute."

"Just leave me alone."

"No, please, you have to listen to me."

"Just stay away!"

"It wasn't a coincidence that we found you, alright?"

Molly stares at him. "What are you talking about?"

"We weren't passing through when we ran into you," Shia answers. She takes a deep breath. "We were hunting."

"Hunting for what?"

"Ghosts," Dean answers.

A defeated look appears on Sam's face. "Don't sugar coat it for her."

"You're nuts," Molly says, taking a step back.

"Told you she'd say that." Shia whispered for only Sam and Dean to hear.

"Really," Dean argues. "About as nuts as a vanishing guy with his guts spilling out." Molly remains silent. "You know what you saw."

"We're pretty sure that his name is Jonah Greeley," Shia explains. "Fifteen years ago, a local farmer died on this highway. The farmer was Greeley."

"Just stop," Molly demands.

"Every year, on the anniversary of his death, he haunts this road. Its why we're here to stop him."

"Now, I suppose this ghost made my car disappear too?"

"Crazier things have happened," Dean says.

"You know what? I'm all filled up on crazy. I'm gonna get the cops myself."

"I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't think you're gonna get too far."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Plan A was trying to get you out of here. Obviously, that didn't go over too well with Farmer Roadkill."

Molly stares at them. "Molly, we're telling the truth," Sam tells her. "Greeley's not gonna let you leave this highway."

"You're - you're serious about this, aren't you," Molly asks, looking between the three of them.

"Deadly," Dean honestly says.

"Unfortunately." Shia comments.

"Every year, Greeley finds someone to punish for what happened to him," Sam explains. "Tonight, that person is you."

"Why me," Molly asks. "I didn't do anything."

"Doesn't matter. Some spirits only see what they want."

"So, you're saying this Greeley - he took my husband?" They remain silent. "Oh, God."

"Molly, look. We're gonna help you, alright? But first, you've gotta help us."

"Help you? How?"

Shia stares at the small cabin. In the moonlight, she couldn't see much of the cabin, but she could tell that no one had been there for a long time. Molly had led them through the woods. "This is it," Molly says as the enter the cabin. It was one room, with a table in the middle. Knives and hooks were hanging on the walls. "This is where I saw him."

"Must have been his hunting cabin," Dean states, looking around. "Huh. Seemed like a real sweet guy."

Sam walks into the cabin. "No markers or headstones outside."

"You're looking for Greeley's grave," Molly asks.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"We gotta dig up the corpse," Shia says shifting uncomfortably, her lower back was starting to hurt her. "Then we salt and burn it."

Molly humorlessly laughs. "Oh. Sure, naturally."

"It's a way to get rid of a spirit," Sam explains.

"So, how do we find it?"

"Uh, not sure. After Greeley died, his wife claimed the body and that's the last anyone saw of her. So, good guess she brought him back here, but they had a thousand acres and he could be buried anywhere on them."

"So, this really what you guys do. You're like Ghostbusters."

Shia smiles. "Without the nifty jumpsuits and proton packs."

"Look, lady, this is a fascinating conversation and all," Dean begins. "But this highway's only haunted once a year and we've got till sun up to wrap this thing up, so what do you say we move it along, okay? Great."

Shia rolls her eyes and follows Dean outside. She smacks his arm. "Why do you gotta be a jerk?"

"I want to get this over with and get you out if here." Dean told her honestly.

"I'm fine-"

"No, you're not. Your back is starting to hurt you, I can tell. You should be in bed."

"Don't tell me where I need to be, damn it. I'm sick of everyone telling me what to do! I'm fine!" Shia said as she made her way pass Dean, he grabbed her arm but she shrugged him off. "Don't."

"What are we looking for," Molly asks, joining them. Shia and Dean avoid glances at each other.

Sam closes the door to the cabin. "Greeley's house. Maybe he's buried there. Look for roads or paths or something. Stay close."

"Yeah, okay."

They split up to search the woods. Shia and Dean go one way while Sam and Molly go a different. Molly hears something and goes in that direction. Greeley appears in front of her. She screams when he grabs her arms. Dean shows up and shoots Greeley with rock salt as Sam and Shia show up. "Hey," Sam calls out. "Are you alright?"

"What has that son of a bitch down with my husband," Molly angrily demands.

"Just take it easy, alright? You're gonna see David again. You will."

"Guys," Shia shouts. They jog over to her and she points out the dark bricks.

"Follow the creepy brick road," Dean comments.

Shia shakes her head as they walk down the path. Dean grabs her arm and quickly gives her a kiss. "What was that for?"

"For earlier."

"What about earlier?"

"I was a dick, and I shouldn't tell you what to do."

"No, you're right. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? I should record that, I'll never hear you say something like that again." Dean says smirking to himself. Shia playfully rolls her eyes and begin to walk again.

They arrive at an old house. It was much bigger than the cabin, but just as broken down. There was a front porch with old chairs. "You know, just once, I'd like to round the corner and see a nice house." Shia shrugs and walks into the house.

Cobwebs and dusty white sheets covered the majority of everything. The door opens and Shia turns to see Sam and Molly walk in. Dean comes in after them. "Any headstones outside," Sam asks.

Dean scoffs. "Yeah, right. Is it ever that easy?"

"I guess not."

Dean motions to the staircase. "You two check upstairs. See if you can find any notes or records telling us where he's buried. Me and Shia will check down here." Shia walks into the kitchen. She pulls open a drawer and sneezes. Dean walks into the room. "Find anything?"

"No," Shia answers. She sighs and leans against the counter. "I hate this case."

He walks over to her. She silently watches him. Dean reaches up and grabs a leaf out of her hair and kisses her softly. "C'mon, let's see if Sam found anything." He starts towards the stairs, then turns back to her. "You coming?"

"Yeah." She pouted and made her way upstairs.

They find Sam and Molly sitting in an old bedroom. Molly was holding a photo album and looking through. "Well, they weren't evil people," Sam says. "A lot of them were good. Just...something happened to them. Something they couldn't control."

"Sammy's always getting a little J. Love Hewitt when it comes to things like this. Me? I don't like them. And I sure as hell ain't making apologies for them. There's nothing downstairs. You find anything?"

"Just about every piece of mail or receipt they ever had. I looked through a couple, but nothing about a grave so far."

Shia walks over to a dresser. "Hey, there's something over here." Dean joins her and they push it out of the way. A small door was there. She pushes at it. "It's looked on the inside."

Dean kicks at it, but nothing happens. He kicks it a second time and it opens. The four of them crawl through the door and arrive in a attic. "It smells like old lady in here." He smirks and picks up a dead spider. "Babe." She turns and he throws it her.

Shia screams and jumps. "Dean!" As she's brushing it off of her, she trips over a chair. Her gaze widens seeing the corpse hanging from the ceiling. "Guys!" Sam sends Dean an unamused look. They all walk over to her. They helped her up, being careful of the corpse. "I found Mrs. Greeley."

"Well, now we know why nobody ever saw her again."

"She didn't wanna live without him," Molly says.

"Dean, give me a hand," Sam demands, picking up the chair Shia had tripped over.

"Really," Dean disbelievingly asks.

"What are you gonna do," Molly questions.

"We can't leave her like this," Sam counters.

Shia shakes her head and climbs into the seat. "She was a person, Dean. She deserves to be put to rest. Now, give me a knife."

Molly looks up when Shia sits down on the steps next to her. Shia lightly smiles at her. It was easier for her to remained positive in the middle of everything. And while Molly was having trouble at times, she remained positive that she would see her husband. "So, if you manage to put Greeley to rest too...what happens to him?"

"Lady, that answer is way beyond our pay grade," Dean replies, pouring lighter fluid in the grave.

Molly frowns. "You hunt these things but you don't know what happens to them?"

"Well, they never come back. That's all that matters."

"After they let go of whatever's keeping them here, they just go," Sam clarifies. "I hope someplace better, but we don't know. No one does."

"What happens when you burn their bones," Molly asks.

"My dad always said it was our job to help them let go so that they could go to Heaven," Shia tells her. "Ghosts...they're scared. And they need help to move on."

"The only thing I'm scared of is losing David. I have to see him again."

Shia shoots her a supportive smile. "You'll see David again. I promise."

Shia yawns and puts her feet in Dean's lap after she sits down in a chair next to him, Dean placed his hand on her thigh. They were searching the house for a second time, hoping to find a clue as to where Greeley was buried. Sam walks over to them. "I think we should tell her about her husband."

"We can't," Dean counters.

"Dean, it's cruel, letting her pine for him like this. I don't like keeping her in the dark."

"Sam," Shia softly begins. "I hate it too. But we came up with a plan and we're going to stick with it. We'll get her out of here and then we'll tell her."

"Tell me what," Molly demands, entering the room. "What aren't you telling me?" The three them avoid looking at her. "It's about David. You know what happened to him."

"Molly-" Sam starts.

"Sam, don't," Dean tells him.

"Don't what," Molly asks. "Don't tell me because I'll mess up your hunt? You don't care about me or my husband."

"That's not true," Sam argues.

"Really? Then whatever it is, tell me, please." They exchange a look. Sam starts to open his mouth. The same song that was playing the Impala starts playing. "He's coming.

Dean gently pushes Shia's feet off him and stands up. "Stay with her."

Shia grabs a shotgun filled with rock salt out of the duffel bag Dean had left. She cocks it as her gaze goes around the room. She walks over to back door and looks out the window. A window breaks and she turns to see Molly dragged out by Greeley. "Dean," Sam shouts. "He's got Molly!"

The three of them search the woods, looking for any sign of Molly or Greeley. But don't any thing. "This guy is persistent," Dean comments as they walk back into the house.

"We've gotta find Molly."

"And Greeley's bones," Shia adds.

"No pressure or anything, but we've got less than two hours before sunrise," Dean tells him.

Sam picks up the photo album that Molly had put on the table earlier. "Hey." There was a picture of Greeley and his wife standing in front of the hunting cabin.

"February 6, 1992," Dean reads. "That's, like, two weeks before the accident, wasn't it?"

"That's the hunting cabin. Where the hell is the tree?," Shia states.

Realization comes over Sam's face. "Should've thought of it."

"What?"

"It's an old country custom - planting a tree as a grave marker."

Dean stares at his younger brother. "You're like a walking encyclopedia of weirdness." Shia pinched Dean's arm for being rude to his brother.

Sam shrugs and puts the photo album back down. "Yeah. I know."

Shia looks in the window of the hunting cabin to see Molly hanging from the rafters. Greeley was torturing her. The boys were on either side of her. "Dean, go get Molly," Sam says. Dean nods and walks into the cabin. Sam and Shia grabs the shovels and other gear before walking over to the tree.

"I hate digging," Shia complains. Together, they're able to get the hole quickly dug. A dirty sheet stands out against the dirt. "Hello, Mr. Greeley." Sam pours gasoline and salt on the bones. Shia lights a match book and drops in the hole. They stand there, watching the flames.

Dean walks out of the cabin, with Molly behind him. After the flames go out and they rebury the grave, the four of them walk back to where the Impala was parked on the highway. "Oh, baby, it's been a long night."

"Let's get you out of here," Sam tells Molly.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to my husband," Molly angrily says. "All this time, I've been looking for him and you knew...you knew that Greeley killed him, didn't you? He's dead?"

"Molly, David's alive," Shia tells her calmly.

Molly stares in shock. "What? You're sure?"

"We're sure," Sam replies. "We'll take you to him. Come on."

The drive to where David's at is silent. They were all lost in their thoughts. Molly was thinking about how happy David would be to see her, while the other three were having sad thoughts for Molly. They arrive at a house. Sam motions to it. "He's in that house right there."

Molly frowns. "I don't understand." Shia sadly smiles and they climb out. They watch as a man in pajamas pours a cup of coffee. "That's not...it can't be." A dark haired woman walks in and David kisses her. "What's happening? Who is that?"

"David's wife," Shia softly tells her. "Molly...fifteen years ago, you and your husband hit Jonah Greeley with your car. David survived the crash."

"What are you saying?"

"We're saying that there isn't just one spirit haunting Highway 41, there are two - Jonah Greeley and you," Dean says.

"For the past fifteen years, one night a year, you've been appearing on that highway," Sam says.

"No, that's not possible," Molly says. "It was our anniversary. February 22-"

"1992."

"Yes."

"It's 2007, Molly," Shia gently tells her.

Tears are in Molly's eyes. "Oh, God. And Greeley?"

"Each year, he punishes somebody for his death," Sam explains. "Chasing them, torturing them. And each year...that somebody is you."

"But I don't remember any of it."

"Because you couldn't see the truth, Molly."

"So, that's why he won't let me off the highway. Because I - I killed him. I killed us both. Why didn't you tell me when you first saw me? Why wait until now?"

"You wouldn't have believed us," Dean says.

"And you needed me for bait?"

"Well, we needed you," Sam corrects.

"David..."

"Molly, we brought you here so you could move on."

"No. I have to tell him."

"Tell him what," Shia questions. "That you're sorry? That you love him? He already knows that, Molly. But, hey, if you want to go in there, then we're not gonna stop you."

"Yeah, but you are gonna freak him right out," Dean argues. "For life."

"He's already said his goodbyes. Now, its your turn."

"This is your unfinished business," Sam tells her.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just...let go of David. Of everything. You do that, we think you'll move on."

"But you don't know where?"

"No," Shia breathes. "Molly, haven't you suffered long enough? Its time to go."

Molly nods and walks past them. A bright light surrounds her and she's gone. "I guess she wasn't so bad," Dean say after a couple of minutes. "For a ghost. You think she's really going to a better place?"

"Yeah. Hopefully."

"I guess we'll never know. Not until we take the plunge ourselves, huh?" Shia gave Dean a hard glare.

"It doesn't really matter, Dean," Sam softly says. "Hope's kind of the whole point."

Dean slaps his shoulder. "Alright, Haley Joel. Let's hit the road." Shia smiles at Sam, then goes after Dean. She caught up with Dean and wrapped her arm around him to which Dean did the same. Sam stands there for a moment, then joins them.


	28. Chapter 28: Hollywood Babylon (2x18)

"First opened in 1927, the lot has been in continuous operation for eight decades," the tour guide says. Shia looks around the backlot of Warner Bros studio. She was sitting next to Sam, with Dean sitting in front of them and a kid eating cream sitting next to him.

"Hey, you know this is where the filmed Creepshow," Dean comments and Shia smiles softly at her boyfriend.

"Now, to the right here is Stars Hollow. It's the setting for the television series, Gilmore Girls. And if we're lucky, we might even catch one of the show's stars," the tour guide continues.

"Come on," Sam announces and hops off the tram.

"Let's finish the tour," Dean counters and looks at Shia, who shrugs before getting off carefully. Dean reluctantly gets off the tram and they start walking around the backlot. "Check it out, it's Matt Damon!"

Shia turns and looks at a man wearing a jumpsuit before shaking her head. "Babe, that's not Matt Damon."

"Yeah, it is," Dean replies placing his hand on the small of her back.

"Then why did Matt Damon just pick up a broom and start sweeping," Shia retorts, smirking at Dean.

"Yeah, well, he's probably researching a role or something."

"Oh yeah. I totally forgot that his next movie is going to be about a janitor. That's not Matt Damon." Shia said as she laughs to herself.

"Hey," Sam interrupts and they look at him. "Stage nine is over there."

"Come on, man, let's keep going this way," Dean says, pointing the way the tram had went.

"No, come on, we've gotta work," Sam counters and Dean lets out a sigh as they start walking towards the stage. "Dude, you wanted to come to LA."

"Yeah, for a vacation. I mean, swimming pools and movie stars, not to work."

"This seem like swimming pool weather to you? I mean, it's practically Canadian."

"Look, Sam, you could use a little break...especially after everything that happened with Madison," Shia comments.

"Well, maybe I wanna work, Shia. Maybe it keeps my mind off things," Sam replies and Shia lets out a sigh as she places a hand on her 32 week pregnancy belly.

"So, this crew guy - he died on set," Dean asks, after a moment.

"Yeah, rumors spreading like wildfire online saying the set's haunted."

"Like Poltergeist?"

"It could be a poltergeist."

"No, no. Like, the movie Poltergeist," Dean corrects and Sam shrugs. "You know nothing of your cultural heritage, do you? It was rumored that the set ofPoltergeist was cursed. That they used real human bones as props. And, like, at least three of the actors died in it."

"Yeah, it might be something like that."

"All right, so this crew guy - what's his name?"

"Frank Jaffey."

"Frank Jaffey - he got a death certificate or a coroner's report or anything?"

"Well, no. But it's LA, you know? It might not even be his real name. But the girl who found him said she saw something - a vanishing figure."

"What's the girl's name?"

"Tara Benchley."

"Whoa, whoa, Tara Benchley? From Fear dot Com and Ghost Ship, Tara Benchley? Dude, why didn't you say so?"

"So now, you're suddenly on board?"

"Oh, I mean, I'm just a fan of her work. She's very good," Dean says and walks away.

"'Oh, I mean, I'm a fan of her work.' Yeah, right.," Shia mimicks as she looked towards Dean's way as he walks away. Sam turned to her.

"Are you-? Are you jealous?" Sam asked smirking at his best friend.

"What? No!" Shia said as she avoided eye contact, when she decided to look at him, he gave her his perfect bitch face. Shia rolled her eyes and walked after Dean, Sam following soon after.

They enter the set and a man turns to them. "Uh, excuse me, Green Shirt Guy," he asks and Dean points to himself. "Yeah, you. Come here." Dean exchanges a look with Shia and Sam before walking over to the man. "Can you get me a smoothie from Kraft?"

"You want a what from who," Dean confusedly asks.

"You are a P.A.? This is what you do?"

Sensing that Dean was about to get them thrown off the set, Shia quickly steps, giving the man a bright smile. "One smoothie coming right up."

Shia grabs Dean's shirt sleeve and starts pulling him away. "What's a P.A.," he asks her.

"A personal assistant."

"I think they're like slaves," Sam answers.

Shia grins and pats Dean on the back. "Hope you have lots of fun."

Shia walks over to where Dean and Sam were standing by the kraft services table as another man walks away. "You have to try these," Dean greets and holds up a sandwich.

Shia opens her mouth for Dean to stuff the sandwich in, he did and Shia smiled. "It's good, babe." Shia says and pulls out some folded up paper. "I dug up a little history on stage nine and over the past eighty years, there's been two suicides and two accidents that resulted in death."

"Any one of those could be a vengeful spirit."

"Just have to figure out which one is playing the role of grim reaper," Shia jokes.

"I'll get right on that," Dean says and begins to walk over to Tara Benchley, but Shia grabbed his collar.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Shia asked, she tried to hide it but Dean sensed the jealous. He wondered why she was so jealous, he does stuff like this all the time.

"I'm trying to get the job done." Dean said as he gave Shia a quick kiss and walk over to the movie star actress.

Shia rolls her eyes. "Great. Dean gets the spend the entire hunt hitting on a movie star while I sit here and suffer from his kid kicking me every five minutes. I need food." Sam looks at Shia. Her hair was growing out beautifully, she wore a tight light blue sky that reminded you of the sky and maternity skinny jeans with her comfortable flat shoes. Sam watched as she ate another sandwich, in a way Shia reminded him of Tanner. A girl he hurt not too long ago.

"What?" Shia asked as she noticed Sam looking at her.

"I'm sorry," Sam softly replies. A confused looks appears on her face. "I didn't mean to hurt Tanner, I know she was just trying to help and I was-"

Shia places a hand on his arm. "Sam, it's okay, I'm sure she forgives you." She shakes her head, then smiles at him. "How about you call her later? Talking will help." Sam nods. Shia reached and gave her best friend a hug. Sam tenses for a second, then relaxes into the hug.

After Dean did some research, which Shia and Sam were shocked about, they arrive in front of a one story house in Burbank. Dean knocks on the door and a moment later, it's opened by a grey haired man wearing an Hawaiian shirt. "Gerard St. James?"

"Yes," he replies.

"You're still alive. And you're not Frank Jaffey," Sam states.

"Uh, no."

"You were Desert Soldier Number Four in Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn," Dean excitedly asks.

"I was."

"I knew I recognized you. I am a huge fan. I mean, your turn as a tractor crash victim in Critters 3?"

"Critters 3!"

"Wow. Yeah."

"Well, please, come in." They follow Gerard into his house. Head shots of him in various costumes were along a wall. "Yeah, it was the producers. They brought me up for the day to play Frank."

"And to fake your death?" Shia questions.

"Well, rumors of a haunted film set, free publicity, especially when you're making a horror movie. It's already all over the Internet. And these days, it's all about new media, building buzz. They say I'm the new LonelyGirl."

"Who," Dean asks.

"And the ghost Tara saw," Sam asks.

"Projected on a screen of diffusion," Gerard explains.

"That's kinda mean," Shia says becoming a bit emotional. "Screwing with everybody."

"Hey, I just play the part. I don't write the script. Speaking of, I'm playing Willy in a dinner theatre production of Salesman at Costa Mesa, all next month." Gerard hands them each a flyer. "You get a free pepper steak with the coupon."

"Now, wait a second," Dean starts. "If you're seen in public, won't that ruin the hoax?"

"Oh, please. Frank and Willy? Totally different characters."

"You know what," Sam says. "Thanks very much, Mr. St. James. It was just nagging at us. But we're very glad...you know, you're alive and well."

"Absolutely," Dean agrees. Gerard shakes their hands. Shia smiles at him. "Hey, I wanted to ask you...what was it like working with Richard Moll?" Confused looks appear on Sam and Shia's face. "Metalstorm. He was Hurok, King of the Cyclops people."

"Gentlemen's gentleman," Gerard answers.

"Yeah?" Gerard nods. Dean grins. Shia and Sam exchange looks of annoyance before leaving the house. Dean runs after them, once he caught up, Dean place his on the small of Shia's back. "Hey, something good came out of this. We get free pepper steak."

Shia dodges people as she and Sam walk through the set to where Dean was standing. After seeing reports of a producer dying on the set, they had went to the morgue. Of course, Dean had no problem with going back undercover on the set. A man wearing glasses walks away from Dean when they reach him. "Walter's a little testy for a P.A., huh?"

"How's it going in here," Sam asks.

"It is going really good, man. Tara's really stepped up her performance. I think it's probably from all the sense memory stuff she's drawing on."

"Sense memory?" Shia amusedly questions.

"Yeah."

"Dean, you know when we ask how it's going in here, we're talking about the case, right," Sam explains. "We don't really work here. You know, I thought you hated being a P.A."

"I don't know. It's not so bad. I kind of feel like part of the team, you know?" Dean holds out a plate. "Taquito? They're wonderful."

"You eat more than me and I'm the pregnant one." Shia smiles and grabs one off the plate. "Look, we got into the morgue."

"And?"

"Brad's as stiff as a doornail."

"Copy that. I'm sorry, what?"

"Copy that?" Sam questions. He glances at Shia and she shrugs while eating the taquito.

"What did you say?"

"The news reports were right. Brad's a doornail-"

"They are aware."

"Who's aware?"

"I'm sorry, what are you saying?"

"Brad's dead," Shia tells him.

"I guess it's a good thing we didn't skip town."

"Apparently so."

"Oh, come here. I want you to hear something." Dean presses a button on the head. "Copy that. On my way." He leads them over to where a man was sitting by a sound board. "Hey, Dave. Can you play them that thing you were playing me earlier?"

"Sure," Dave replies. He hands a pair of headphones to Sam and presses a button on the sound board. Sam sends them a look, then pulls off the headphones.

"Thanks," Sam tells him, then the three of them walk away. "EVP."

"From the night of Brad's stage dive," Dean continues. "All of a sudden, I'm getting electromagnetic readings up the wazoo. For some reason, it's a legit haunting now."

"What does the ghost want," Shia questions. "Does it just hate the movie or the cast?"

"I don't know. I think we should take a look at Brad's death scene." Dean leads them out of the studio and to where a roll of trailers was parked. He climbs into one of the trailers with them behind him. He grabs a disc off the top of a stack and puts in a DVD player. Sam sit on the leather couch while Dean sits on a footrest and Shia sits on this mini couch. Footage from the film appears on the screen.

"Where'd you get this?"

"They're called dailies. I got it from Cindy. She's kind of got this on-and-off thing going with Drew. He dubbed me an extra copy." They watch the scene. Shia raises an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. From what she had seen, the film didn't look like it was gonna be good. "Alright, here's where the guy fell through the roof."

"Right," Sam replies.

"Alright, here we go."

The scene continues. Then Brad drops into the middle of the scene. Shia jumps, grabbing her baby bump in the process. Sam leans forward from where he's sitting. "Wait, go back, go back." Dean rewinds the DVD. "Wait. There."

In the back corner of the scene, was a woman. Her skin and clothing were grey toned. "Its like Three Men and a Baby all over again." Sam shoots his brother a confused look. "Selleck, Danson, and Guttenberg. And...I don't know who played the baby."

Sam stares at him. "What's your point?"

"Everyone says that there's a ghost in background of one of the scenes. You know, spirit photography," Shia explains. "But I've seen that woman before." Shia continuously rubs her belly, Dean watched her until he walked over and sat beside Shia.

"You okay there, babe?" Dean asked as he reached over and rubbed Shia's hard stomach.

"Why are you worried? Why don't you go check on your little famous girlfriend? That's the only thing you've been focused on." Shia tells him as she shifts where she shrugs Dean's hand off. Sam got up and walked outside, he sensed that they needed a moment alone.

"What makes you say that?" Dean asked.

"Oh please. You've been drooling all over her since we've been here. Not once did you really care about how I was feeling, I've been stuck on Sam the whole time we've been here! Poor Sam, I know he doesn't want to hear about my heartburn, my swollen ankles, my aching back, and my swollen nipples. I shouldn't have to complain to Sam, I should be complaining to you since this is your baby!" Shia told him as she got up from her spot on the couch.

"Babe, I'm sorry-"

"No! No, just forget it. You're always fucking sorry and I'm up to here with it," Shia said as she motion above her head. "Do whatever you want. I'm sick of worrying about you and other women. And don't tell me you never attempted to flirt with her, I know your intentions. Just...I don't care." Shia felt the tears fall on her cheek like rain dropping from her eyes.

"Shia, please, you know how I feel about you. My intentions were never to do anything other than flirt. I swear. Okay? I love you. I'm not the best boyfriend, no, but I do try. You, Sam, Bobby, and our child is all I care about. I'm in love with you and I'm not afraid to admit that." Dean tells her, he slowly walked over to her and places and small kiss on her lips. Shia slightly shoves him away.

"No, I...we need some space." Shia told him, finding the floor interesting to look at.

"Shia-" Dean started to say.

"Um, are you two done? We should be working on the case." Sam asked as he slowly made his way in the trailer room. Shia turned to Dean who intently staring at her, not paying attention to Sam.

"He's right. We should get going." Shia said softly but for everyone in the room to hear, she didn't trust herself to be loud as she felt her voice break. Shia turned away and made her way out of the room. Sam looked at Dean.

"What just happened?" Sam asked carefully, he knew they would fight a lot but something told him this was serious.

"We just broke up." Dean said looking away to the side of the room then towards the floor, he cleared his throat and looked at Sam again.

"Dean-"

"I'm going to fix this. Okay? I have to. I...we can't give up on each other." Dean said passing Sam, leaving him to be the only one in the room. Sam shook his head and walked out moments later.

Sam watches as Shia sifts through the research they had done, moments ago she was fine, she looked healthy and happy but now she looks the exact opposite. Sam still can not believe that Shia and Dean broke up. Dean joins them at the table, sitting down across from them. Shia holds out an article to him getting straight to business. "Yeah, go for Ozzy," Dean says into the headset. "No, I don't have twenty on Tara, I think she's ten-one hundred. Okay copy that." He takes the article.

"Elise Drummond was a starlet in the thirties," Shia explains. "She was having an affair with a studio executive, then he dumps her and fires her. So, Elise hangs herself from the rafters and drops into the middle of a scene."

"Just like our man Brad. So, what, she's got it in for the studio brass?"

"Possibly. I mean, it's a motive. And Brad's death matches hers exactly," Sam said.

"We're digging tonight, aren't we?"

"You're digging," Shia corrects slightly shifting to make herself feel comfortable.

"And what are you gonna be doing, princess?" Dean said to Shia, smirking at her slightly. Shia scoffed softly and looked between both brothers.

"Watching the big, strong men dig." Shia said as she started to walk towards an exit. Sam gave Dean a look.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Dude, you're coming on too strong. If you want her back, I don't think flirting with her would be the best thing. Try showing a different side you barely ever show. Maybe something romantic." Sam told his brother as he turned to follow after Shia. Dean stood there for a moment thinking over what his brother just said, he nodded and followed after them.

Shia walks between Dean and Sam as they search the Hollywood cemetery. Since she opted not to do any digging, Dean asked her to carry the water bottles for them which she had no problems with. "Which way?" Sam asked.

Dean looked down at the map he had gotten from the main gate. "Uh..." He motions to the right. "Over there. Hey." He nods to the statue of Humpty Dumpty. Shia and Sam shake their heads. "This map is totally worth the five bucks! Hey, we've gotta go check out Johnny Ramone's grave when we're done here."

"Why? You gonna dig him up too," Shia asked.

"Bite your tongue, heathen!" They pass another memorial statue, this of a man doing a guitar pose. "Oh, that's cool."

"You know what I don't get is why now," Sam questions. "I mean, after seventy-five years, Elise Drummond suddenly goes homicidal, you know? Why this movie?"

"Well, maybe she's mad they're making a scary ghost flick."

"Come on, is it really that scary?"

Shia scoffed. "Yeah, it's downright terrifying. Maybe Elise saw someone in the same position as that she was in."

"Maybe."

"Here we go," Dean announces as they reach the grave. Shia wasn't paying any attention so she accidentally bumped into Dean. Dean turned around quickly to steady her before she could fall. Shia smiles at him as Dean looked down at her smiling softly to himself. Sam watch the scene and rolled his eyes to himself. It's like a roller coaster with them, so dysfunctional. Shia grabbed the map out of Dean's hand. Dean quickly grabbed her wrist. "You're not about to go look around by yourself. Stay by us."

Shia nodded and looked on the ground, she didn't want to sit down in dirt. Dean noticed and walked over to the bag they had and pulled out a blanket and placed it on the ground for her, he grabbed her waist and helped down on the blanket. Before standing up again, Dean gave Shia a quick kiss on the forehead. Shia blushed and Dean went to go help Sam with the digging.

"You're getting soft." Sam said as he began to shovel.

"Shut up." Dean grumbled.

They stand back as the detectives investigate the death of another producer on the film. They had seen it on the news and made their way back to the set. Blood and chunks covered the ground. "Run in with a giant fan," Sam quietly explains. "Same thing happened to an electrician back in '66, a guy named Billy Beard."

"What the hell," Dean asks.

"It definitely wasn't Elise. This wasn't her style," Shia tells them.

"We already torched her anyway. So, what, are we dealing with another ghost?"

"Except ghosts don't usually work together."

"Maybe there's something on the dallies," Sam suggests. "Elise was captured on film, then maybe Billy was too."

They walk outside to see that the rest crew was waiting around. A man, the director, was standing in the middle of the crowd. "Everyone! Huddle in," the director shouts. "In light of Jay's accident last night and in cooperation with the authorities, we're shutting down production for a few days. I know, I know. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. We've had a few setbacks this week. But we all know what Jay and Brad wanted more than anything. And that was to see Hell Hazers 2: The Reckoning on screens all across America! Now, we owe it to them to go on and to pull together and make this damn movie, huh?" The crew cheers and claps. "But not today. Go home. Someone will call you."

Sitting all day and watching the footage from an unreleased movie would be many a movie geek's dream. Except Shia hated it. She groaned and covers her face with one of the leather pillows on the couch. The door opens and she moves the pillow to see Dean enter. "Please tell me you found out where the dude's buried."

"He wasn't," Dean answers. "Billy Beard was cremated."

"Great. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

"No idea. Anymore ghost cameos in the dailies?"

"Not in the first six hours," Sam tells him. "You know, maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie because they think it sucks. Because, I mean, it kind of does."

"No, no, no. This movie is so bad that it wouldn't-" Shia starts.

"Shut up." Shia stares at him. Sam rewinds the DVD player. "Listen to the invocation. That's the real deal - a necromantic summoning ritual. What the hell is that doing in a Hollywood movie?"

Over the course of their investigation, Dean had met almost everyone who was working on the film which made it easy for them to get a copy of the script and to find the screen writer, Marty. The production offices were a few buildings away from the actual set. Dean, Sam, and Shia stop at a office to see that Marty was talking on the phone. He notices them. "Alright. Cool," Marty says, then puts down the phone. "Guys, we're all shut down. What are you still doing here?"

"Yeah, uh, sorry, man. We couldn't help ourselves," Sam tells him. "We just had to tell you that we read the script."

"And?"

"It's awesome," Shia lied smoothly.

"Awesome," Dean repeats as he places his hand on the small of Shia's back. Marty noticed the gesture and raised an eyebrow.

"Really awesome," Sam said gaining Marty's attention.

"I know, it's pretty rocking, right? I'm glad you guys liked it," Marty says.

"Yeah, I really liked all the attention to detail."

"Dude, right on, that's my thing. Color me guilty, but that is me. I'm a total detail buff."

"You know what I loved," Shia began. "The way that the Enochian summoning rituals and authentic language was seamlessly worked in."

The smiles falls off Marty's face. "What, you mean that Latin crap?" Shia nodded. "No, that's Walter. Walter Dixon, the original writer. You like that garbage?"

"Wait, 'Walter the P.A.' Walter," Dean asks.

"No, he's not a P.A. He's got a clause in his contract that allows him to come on set."

"But he wrote the invocations?"

"He wrote a whack job screenplay. There's no pace, there's no love interest, it's all wackadoo exposition. I had to cut, like, ninety percent of it to make it readable, the other ten percent to make it good."

"Do you have a copy of that script," Sam asks. Marty shrugs and hands him a script that was under a pile of other papers. "Thanks."

A couple of hours later, the three of them are sitting at a picnic table, overlooking the original script. "Should've kept Walter's original script," Dean says, leaning back. "It's actually pretty good."

"Yeah. And it reads like a how-to manual of conjuration, like a textbook on how to summon ghosts and get them to do whatever you want."

"Like kill people. My God, he's sick." Shia sighs as she placed a hand on her growing belly.

"Yep. So, let's say somewhere down the line, Walter learned some pretty black magic."

"He decides to get revenge for making his movie into a piece of crap."

"Motive and means."

Dean nods in agreement. "It's worth checking out."

After retrieving a couple of weapons from the trunk of the Impala, they start their search for Walter. They find him and Marty on the set. Walter was watching as a ghost dragged Marty to a industrial sized fan. Dean walks up and shoots the ghost as Sam turns off the fan. "You are one hell of a P.A.," Marty says.

"Yeah, I know," Dean smugly replies.

"What are you doing," Walter exclaims.

"We could ask you the same thing, Walter," Sam counters, walking over to him. Walter climbs up the scaffolding. "Raising these spirits from the dead? Making them murder for you? That's playing with fire, Walter."

"You don't understand."

Shia scoffed and rolled her eyes "Yeah, we don't understand."

"Just...wait, look. You put your heart and soul into something, years of hard work. It's years. And they take it! And they crap all over it! And then they want you to smile and say, 'Thank you.'"

"It's a movie. You have time to write more and find people that actually appreciate it instead of working with dicks but no. You chose to kill people." Shia snapped. Sam shot her a frustrated look.

"Look...I've got nothing against you guys. You're not part of this. Just please, please, just leave. But Martin's gotta stay."

"Sorry, can't do that," Dean says. "It's not that we like him or anything, it's just a matter of principle."

"Then I'm sorry too," Walter replies, before raising the talisman.

"Walter. Walter, don't," Sam demands. Walter chants. The set around them starts shaking and the ghosts appear. Shia and Dean raise their guns, then the ghosts disappear. The shield from the baby formed around Shia guaranteeing her safety. Sam is shoved to the floor. Shia helps him up and the two of them take off. Dean grabs Marty and follows Sam and Shia.

They run into a building. "Fuck! Really?" Shia exclaims, seeing that there was only half a building.

"Oh, man," Dean shouts in frustration.

"I can't believe this," Marty says. "Ghosts are real!"

Dean scoffs. "What makes you say that?"

"But I don't understand. How is Walter controlling them?"

"Probably that talisman," Sam answers. Then it hits him. He pulls out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I mean, if film cameras pick these suckers up, then...maybe..." Sam turns on the camera and scans the room. A ghost is standing a few feet away from him. He points to the ghost. "Shia, right there!" Shia shoots her gun and the ghost disappears. Sam spots another ghost and points. "Dean, right there!" He spots Walter on the top level of the scaffolding. He hands his phone to Marty. "Here, you get the idea?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, you hold them off. I'm going after Walter."

"I cannot believe there's an afterlife."

"Oh, there's an afterlife, alright. But mostly, it's a pain in the ass," Dean comments.

"There!" Shia shoots the ghost. Marty spots another ghost, but before he can point it out, the ghost disappears. "It's gone."

Shia and Dean exchange a look, then run out of the soundstage with Marty following them. They reach Sam and Walter as Walter falls to the ground. He screams in pain. Marty raises the cell phone to see the ghosts ripping into Walter's back. Shia felt sick to her stomach, she turned her head away from the scene. Dean was right beside her so he grabbed her and pulled Shia close to him. He was now inside the shield that was around her, once everything was done for and the screaming faded the shield around the parents of the unborn child disappeared.

"What are you?" Marty asked in shock.

"We will save that story for another day." Shia said softly as she let go of Dean and made her way to the exit.

Shia smiles as she jogs over to Sam. She loops her arm through his. Her pocketswere filled packets of chocolate chip cookies from the crafts service table.

"I'm sorry for whining about my pregnancy all week. You didn't deserve that." Shia said as they walked together.

"No. It's okay. I like hearing what my niece or nephew keeps putting you through." Sam said with a soft chuckle.

They walk out of the soundstage and pass a couple of the trailers. A door opens and Dean climbs out. "This man is a keeper. Don't let him slip through your fingers. He wouldn't even let me seduce him." Tara comments as she noticed Shia a few feet away.

Dean grins to himself, he was trying to prove to Shia that he could be faithful. So, he turned down his favorite actress. "Thank you."

Shia let go of Sam and stared at Dean. She couldn't believe that Dean didn't take the opportunity to be with someone else. Dean walked slowly towards her, he leaned in a gave her a passionate kiss that could leave her breathless.

"I love you." Dean whispered.

"I love you too." Shia said to him with a smile on her face.

"Does this mean we're back together?"

"Yes." Shia hugged him tightly, she let him go as she felt a kick from the baby. "Looks like the little one is happy about the make up." Dean placed his hand on her baby bump, he bent down and kissed it tenderly.

Sam watched them, he didn't want to be rude and tell them that it was time to leave. In a way, he was jealous. He wished that it was him and Jessica that was experiencing this kind of happiness, excitement.

"We should get going guys, I want to find a motel far from here." Sam said crossing his arms. Shia and Dean nodded and walked to the impala with Sam.


	29. Chapter 29: (2x20) What Is And What

Dean was sitting on the edge of a hotel bed, flipping through a magazine. He sees an ad with a woman lying on the beach, holding a beer, the woman is Carmen, the girl he was having an affair with in the Djinn fantasy. That was the one thing about the fantasy world he was once in, he was happily married to Shia but he was cheating on her with some nurse. He couldn't believe it.

Sam was talking into the phone. "Okay, uh, thank you so much for the update. Okay, bye." Sam turned to Dean with a relieved smile. "That was the hospital, the girl has been stabilized. Good chance she's gonna pull through."

"That's good." Dean said with a sigh, he was glad that he figured everything out in time.

"Yeah." Sam said, but paused for a moment. "How about you? You all right?"

Dean cleared his throat, he was trying to gather his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm all right. You should have seen it, Sam. Our lives. You were such a wussy."

Sam chuckled slightly. "So we didn't get along then, huh?"

Dean shook his head, the thought of him and Sam not having a bond scared him, he would never want that to happen. "Nah."

"What about Shia? Was she there?" Sam asked. Dean nodded his head, the thought of her made him smile.

"Yeah, she was there, but we were having issues with our marriage. I was cheating on her, apparently."

"Oh. I thought it was supposed to, to be this perfect fantasy." Sam said as he shook his head disappointingly.

"It wasn't. It was just a wish. I wished for Mom to live. That Mom never died, we never went hunting and you and me just never uh... you know. I wished for me and Shia to have a normal, white picket fence life." Dean told Sam.

"Yeah. Well, I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean. Most people wouldn't have had the strength, would have just stayed."

"Yeah... Lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. I had Shia. Me and her had kids. Mom was a grandmother of two children, and one on the way. It was perfect. That little boy was beautiful and so was that small little girl. The little boy was four, I think. Patience, my little girl, she was almost two. Shia was pregnant with a little boy, we revealed the sex at mom's birthday party." Dean said with a sad smile, he missed that life so much. He missed his "kids" and the life he had with his family. He didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay and try to work things out with Sam. And try to fix his marriage.

Sam sat there, he noticed how happy Dean sounded when he talked about his children and life in the fantasy. "Yeah, but... Dean... it wasn't real."

"I know. But I wanted to stay." Dean looked down for Sam's gaze, he felt sad and lost. "I wanted to stay so bad. I mean, ever since Dad... all I c- all I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've... sacrificed so much."

"But people are alive because of you." Sam said but only to hear Dean scoff. "It's worth it, Dean. It is. It's not fair, and... you know, it hurts like hell, but... it's worth it."

Dean looked at his brother, then down again, sadly, pensively. The room was quiet until they heard a thud in the bathroom. Both brothers looked at each other and grabbed a gun, preparing for whatever is behind the door. Sam looked at Dean and nodded, Dean reached over and opened the door but only to find Shia standing there.

"Hi, boys." Shia said slowly and waved awkwardly. Dean gave her a disappointing look.

"You're not supposed to be here, you're supposed to be a your dad's. You know you're on bed rest." Dean said as he walked back to his bed to place the gun down, he turned to Shia again. "Did you tap into the baby's power just to get here?"

Shia looked down guilty. "Maybe." Shia said to both men. "Oh, I couldn't help it! Tanner told me you were in trouble, I had to make sure you were okay!"

"I told Tanner not tell you." Sam sighed as he made his way to a chair in the motel room.

"I gave her my puppy dog eyes, she couldn't resist." Shia said with a slight shrug. Sam rolled his eyes. Dean just stared at Shia, all he could think about was their life in the Djinn fantasy. Dean slowly walked over and kissed Shia passionately, he wrapped himself around her waist just to try to pull her closer but her 35 week pregnancy belly was in the way.

"You know, sexual activity so late in the pregnancy can cause Shia to go into labor early." Sam said when glanced up to see the make out session between his brother and best friend. Shia and Dean continued kissing but Shia did give Sam the bird. Sam looked down and chuckled a little at her actions, Sam figured they needed some space so he decided to leave.

"We need to talk." Dean said breathlessly, still holding on to Shia as close as he possibly could.

"What? Dean, what's wrong?" Shia asked as she stared into to Dean's green eyes. Dean took her hand and led her to bed where she sat down and he sat beside her.

"I need you to know that I love you. You and this baby means so much to me." Dean told Shia slowly and emphasizing each word.

"Dean, I already know this. Look, I know with me being pregnant that this isn't easy but we can get through this. We're going to have a little family to ourselves. Can you believe that?" Shia asked Dean as she motioned to her very round belly, Dean placed a hand on her belly and as soon as he did, he felt a kick. "See, even the baby loves you as much as I do."

"I have something else to tell you."

"What?"

"When I was caught by the Djinn, it sent me to this fantasy." Dean told her, Shia only looked at him. Her eyes were telling him to tell her more. "We were married, baby. We had kids and you were pregnant again. They were beautiful. I had a good paying job, you worked as a teacher. We had a nice house, a nice car. It was perfect. While you were the perfect wife, I wasn't the perfect husband."

"What do you mean?" Shia asked, she was a bit scared of an answer but she had to know.

"I cheated." Dean said, he felt guilty about it so he had to tell Shia.

"Dean," Shia said as she scooted closer to him. "Are you trying to apologize for some fantasy world mistake you made?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Dean, that was a fake life you were living while the Djinn had you. None of it was real. The man that the Djinn made you out to be was not real. Of course the thought of our kids and marriage was great, but I still wouldn't trade it for the world."

"Mom was alive, Shia. She was there."

"Dean, it was physically your mom, but it was not your mom." Shia truthfully told her boyfriend, she could tell Dean was having a hard time letting this go. Shia didn't blame him for thinking the way he did though, if she had everything she wished for and saw the outcome...and then have to escape the good life, she knew she would have been broken up about it.

"You're right."

"What matters is that we have some type of happiness here right now, our child."

Dean smiled at the thought of having a baby of his own with someone he loves. Dean looked at Shia and nodded. Shia smiled back at him, without her knowing her eyes were a soft pink, purple color.

"Babe, your eyes." Dean informed Shia.

"It's been doing that lately. Maybe it's because in a month I'll be giving birth." Shia said as she giggled to herself. "But seriously, my powers have been all over the place."

"You're supposed to be on bed rest and not using any powers. Michael told you not to." Dean said with a scolding tone.

"Oh, what does he know?" Shia pouted as she rolled her eyes.

"Uh, a lot." Dean said with a light chuckle. Shia couldn't help but smile at him. Dean and Shia decided to lie down the bed and enjoy the company of each other.

Sam was outside a bar, he wasn't drunk or anything but he held his phone in front of him and stared at the contact name.

Tanner.

Sam decided to dial the number, it ringed for a moment, then he heard her voice.

"Hello?" Tanner's voice said from the other side of the phone.

"Tanner?" Sam asked, he knew it was her but it was a habit to ask for the person on the other side of the phone.

"Sam? How are you?" Tanner asked, truth be told, she was surprised he called.

"I'm okay. What about you? Uh, how are you?"

"I'm good. Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Well, Shia's here. But that's nothing major." Sam answered, he heard Tanner chuckle on the other end.

"I'm sorry, but she practically begged for me to tell her what was up with you and Dean. I didn't know she orbed to you though, she used a lot of power to do so."

"No, it's okay. Her and Dean needed to talk anyways. Like me and you need to talk." Sam said, he was hoping she wouldn't just say 'forget about it. It's okay.' because he knew that it wasn't okay.

"Sam-"

"No, hear me out. I'm sorry about what happened between me and Madison. Okay? I wasn't sure about your feelings for me. I didn't mean to hurt you." Sam explained, he wanted her to understand. Sam really liked Tanner, she was good for him, but of course he would find a way to mess that up.

"Sam, just forget it. Okay? It doesn't change anything. You were with her for that short amount of time and you were happy, that's all that matters. I just...I need to move on." Tanner said boldly, but her voice broke at the end of her sentence. "Look, Sam, I have to go."

"Tanner, just-"

"No, Sam, just forget it. I hope you have a great night. Bye." Tanner spoke before hanging up. She was hurt, and Sam knew that. He was hurt for hurting her, he knew Tanner didn't deserve that. Sam shook his head as he ended the call on his side, putting his phone in his pocket he walked back to the motel a few blocks away.


	30. Chapter 30: All Hell Breaks Loose Pt1

The impala pulled up at a small diner. Shia, Sam, and Dean were all hungry so they decided to stop.

"Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean told Sam to which Sam rolled his eyes. Shia giggles as Dean handed Sam the money.

"Dude, me and Shia are the ones who are gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions." Sam said as he gets out the car. Dean grinned at his brother. Shia opens the door from the backseat and motions Sam to come help her.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Dean asked her.

"I'm going in with Sam. I want to see if they have a blender."

"Why do you need a blender?" Sam asked as he finally pulled Shia out of the car, Shia shifted her clothes before answering the question.

"I wanted to see if the could blend pickles, chips, and mustard together. Might as well add some ham to that." Shia told with a shrug. Sam and Dean said nothing, Dean only shook his head. Shia and Sam turned to walk into the diner, but Dean called them back.

"Hey, see if they've got any pie." Dean said, Sam glared at him but Shia nodded. "Bring me some pie!"

"I love me some pie." Dean mumbled to himself.

Dean watched as his girlfriend and little brother walked to go into the café and talk to the waiter. Suddenly, Dean's car radio becomes staticky. Dean glanced down and fiddled with it, but it turns off completely. When Dean looked back up, the inside of the café was empty. No waiter, no Sam or Shia.

Dean ran into the café.One customer at a booth is dead, face down in a puddle of blood. Dean drew his gun as he saw the mess.

"Sam? Shia?" Dean asked out. Dean paced forward and looked around. He found that the employees are also dead, with their throats slit. Dean opened the back door and looked around outside.

"Sam?! Shia?!" Dean shouted. Dean then notices something on the door. "Sulfur." Dean raced back out the front door, heading back to the car.

"Sam! Sammy! Shia!" There was no response. "Shia? Sammy!"

At an unknown location, Sam woke up in the middle of nowhere. He was lying on the ground, and a few abandoned buildings are lining the street. He stood up and took out his phone, but got no cell reception."

Shia woke up in a dark room, she was laying down in fetus position, meaning that whoever put her there was being very careful with her.

"It's almost time." A man said in the shadows. Shia was confused and scared for her baby. The man walked out of the shadows, his yellow eyes lit up like a sun.

"Azazel." Shia whispered to herself.

On the highway, Bobby, Tanner and Dean are parked on the side of the road, poring over a map.

"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month." Bobby told Dean and Tanner. Bobby stood there, all he could think about was Sam and Shia. Mostly Shia and his future grandchild.

"Are you joking? There's nothing here." Dean said.

"I don't think he's joking, Dean." Tanner said as she turned to look around.

"Exactly." Bobby agreed.

"Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the, the, the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing." Dean asked. Dean felt desperate, all he wanted was his little brother and girlfriend back.

"That's what I'm telling you: there's nothing. It's completely quiet." Bobby told him.

"Well, how are we supposed to look for Sam and Shia? What, do we just close our eyes and point?" Dean asked. "Tanner, can you use your powers?"

"Yeah, I can try." Tanner said, she got in position to use her powers to try to sense Sam or Shia. Her eyes turned golden but nothing happened, it was like her powers were shut down. "I-I can't. Something's wrong."

Dean sighed and looked down, then his phone started to ring. It was Ash, calling from the Roadhouse.

"Ash, what do you got?" Dean asked as he answered the phone.

"Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam-" Ash honestly tried to tell Dean.

"Oh, come on, man! You've gotta give us something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here."

"Listen, Dean. I did find something."

"Well, what?" Dean impatiently asked.

"I can't talk over this line, Dean."

"Come on, I don't have time for this!"

"Make time, okay? Because this..." Ash began to say but stop when a customer walked by. "Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother and your girlfriend, this is, uh, it's huge. So get here. Now." Ash said before he hung up.

"I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. Come on." Dean told Tanner, and Bobby as he got in the impala.

At the unknown location, Sam and the group of special, demon army children were all together.

"So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse?" Jake, a dark skin, young man asked.

"When you put it like that-" Sam began to say.

"And, and we've been picked?" Jake asked.

"Yes."

"Why us?"

"I'm not sure, okay? But look, I just know-"

"Sam, I'm sorry. Psychics and spoon-bending is one thing, but demons?" Ava, a young woman who has been missing for a long time, asked.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but-"

"It doesn't just sound it." Jake gruffly said.

"I don't really care what you think, okay? If we're all gathered here together, then that means it's starting and that we've gotta-"

"The only thing I've gotta do is stay away from wackjobs, okay? I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own. FYI, so are you." Jake said as he turned to walk away for the group.

"Jake, hold on. Jake!" Sam said as he tried to call him back. Jack ignored him and continued walking until he is alone in the town. Suddenly, he sees a young blonde girl standing inside one of the buildings. She stared at him through the door, then vanishes. Jake followed her, entering the abandoned schoolroom.

"Hello?" Jake asked out. The girl can be heard giggling somewhere in the room. "It's all right. Don't be scared. Are you lost?" There was no response. "Hello?"

Jake hears screeching coming from the chalkboard. He turns to look at it, and the words "I will not kill" are written over and over again on the board. The girl appears in the room, laughing. Her nails grow to form claws, and her face contorts.

"Get back!" Jake yelled.

Sam suddenly entered the building, grabbing an iron poker and hitting the girl with it. She dissolves into a cloud of black smoke, which exits the schoolroom. The other three join Jake and Sam.

"Just so you know? That was a demon." Sam told Jake.

In an abandoned room of some sort, Shia was in a corner. She was perfectly healthy, the demon feed her, make sure she bathed, gave her a drink when she wanted, if she needed a nap he would allow her to take one.

"What do you want from me?" Shia asked Azazel as she slowly got up from her corner and slowly walked over to him.

"Shhh. I'm trying to listen to Sam and his new friends." Azazel said as his eyes were focused elsewhere, when he was done, he turned to her. "I want the semi-god."

"How does that involve me?" Shia asked.

"You still haven't figured it out yet, haven't you?" Shia shrug at him.

"Your child is the semi-god. He will rule the world one day, it is written already."

"He?" Shia asked.

"Yes, a little boy."

"How do you know?" Shia asked him as she rubbed her baby bump, the child inside her was kidding like he or she was in a soccer game.

"It was written in the book of the undecided."

"That book...that book doesn't exist anymore. It's not accurate."

"Oh, it isn't? Well, you should not be feeling well in 3, 2, 1." Azazel said and as he was done counting Shia felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.

"Ah!" Shia shouted as she found a comfortable seat Azazel set up for her to sit in. "What are you doing to me?"

"I'm not doing anything. You, my dear, are in labor." Shia's eyes went wide, she was thinking about how he will take her kid as soon as she has it. "72 hours from now...the child will be here. Sit tight, I have some business to tend to." Azazel told her as he disappeared.

"72 hours? Oh God. Dean, hurry up." Shia mumbled to herself.

Dean, Tanner, and Bobby turned the corner to the Roadhouse. When they got there, however, the entire building was burned to the ground.

"What the hell?" Dean said as he looked at the scene horrified.

"You can say that again." Tanner said stared at the broken down use to be building. They all got out of the car and began walking among the debris. Every single part of the Roadhouse was been destroyed.

"Oh, my God." Bobby and Tanner said in unison.

"You see Ellen?" Dean asked Bobby and Tanner.

"No. No Ash, either." Bobby told him, he looked up at Tanner to see if she found anything but she had no luck with anything.

Dean suddenly bent down and sees Ash's watch in the pile of rubble. He pulled on it and sees it is still attached to Ash's burnt flesh.

"Oh, Ash, damn it!" Dean yelled. Tanner walked over and noticed the watch and the body, she cover her mouth. She was in shock, who or what could have done this and why?

"This is..." Bobby said as he trails off still looking at his surroundings.

"What the hell did Ash know? We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam and Shia?!"

"We'll find him." Tanner told Dean as she placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Suddenly, DEAN clutches his head in pain.

"Dean?" Bobby asked. Dean groaned and doubled over. He seen an image of the Cold Oak bell very quickly. "What was that?"

"I don't know. A headache?" Dean said.

"A headache?" Tanner asked, she just knew that there was something wrong with Dean's 'headache'.

"You get headaches like that a lot?" Bobby asked Dean sternly.

"No. Must be the stress." Dean said with a light chuckle. "I could have sworn I saw something."

"What do you mean? Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?" Tanner asked Dean, as she got very interested in the conversation.

"What? No!" Dean denied but Bobby and Tanner only stared at him.

"I'm just saying." Tanner mumbled.

"Come on, I'm not some psychic." Dean said looking from Tanner to Bobby, from Bobby to Tanner. Suddenly, the vision came back. Dean fell against the car in pain. He sees another image, this time of Sam.

"Dean? Dean! Are you with me?" Bobby asked as his got very concern for Dean.

"Yeah, I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him, Bobby." Dean told Bobby, Tanner stood there and gasp softly. One step closer to finding them.

"It was a vision? Yeah, it was." Tanner said. "Did you see Shia?"

"Yeah, it was a vision. I don't know how, but yeah. Whew. That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels."

"What else did you see? And did you see Shia?" Bobby asked getting very serious, he was ready to find his daughter, his pregnant daughter.

"Uh... there was a bell. And no...no, I didn't see Shia." Dean told him but looked away as he did, Dean wanted to see Shia, he wanted to know if she was okay. It was killing him to think that she was being hurt.

"What kind of bell?" Bobby asked, if you looked at Bobby you could tell he was disappointed in not knowing where Shia and his future grandchild was.

"Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know."

"Engraving?"

"Yeah."

"Was it a tree? Like, an oak tree?" Bobby asked. Tanner could tell that Bobby either knew or was trying to figure out what Dean was describing.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean told him. 'Finally, someone gets it.'

"I know where Sam is." Bobby said as he opened the car door and got in, he was ready to go. Dean looked at Tanner and she smiled at him and got in the backseat, Dean soon followed her action but only he was getting in the driver seat.

In the abandoned basement, or at least that's what Shia calls it. She knew she wasn't in a house but she knew she was somewhere underground. It was one of those safe places people go to when a terrible Strom hits. Shia tried everything to pry the locked door open but nothing worked. Shia didn't try using her powers yet, which she should.

"Okay, little one, mommy is going to need your help with this. We're going to bust out of here." Shia told her unborn child as she shifted to make herself comfortable. Shia lifted her hands towards the door, her eyes were her blue, white color that glows like the sky. Shia was trying everything she could but her powers wouldn't work. "What the hell?"

"They won't work." Shia whispered to herself. The sharp pain in her lower abdomen hit her again. Shia crouched down and slowly sat on the floor as a couple of tears passed her eyes and down her cheeks. The contractions would hit her every couple of hours, her water hasn't broken yet. Shia was scared, she didn't want to do this alone. She wanted Dean, Sam, Bobby, Tanner, Julius, and Michael there for her as she brings 'the fate of mankind' into this world.

That night, the entire "demon army" group are sitting in one room, silent. Sam was struggling to stay awake, closing his eyes every so often. Suddenly, in the corner of the room, he sees Azazel.

"Jake! Behind you!" Sam tried to warn him but it was as if Jake couldn't hear him.

"Howdy, Sam." The yellow eyed demon, Azazel, greeted.

"I'm dreaming." Sam mumbled now realizing that it's all in his head.

"What do you say you and I take a little walk?" Azazel suggested.

The yellow eyed demon leads Sam outside, in Sam's dream.

"You're awfully quiet, Sam. You're not mad at me, are you?" Azazel teased as he walked side by side with Sam.

"I'm gonna tear you to shreds, I swear to-"

"When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot." He told Sam as he chuckled.

"Where's my brother? And sister?!" Sam demanded.

"Sister? Sam, she's not married to Dean."

"Where are they?"

"Quit worrying about Dean. I'd worry more about yourself."

"Why? You gonna kill me?"

"I'm trying to help you." Azazel told Sam. Sam shook his head and scoffed. "That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Welcome to the Miss America pageant. Why do you think you're here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."

"I thought we were supposed to be-"

"Soldiers in a coming war? That's true. You are. But here's the thing: I don't need soldiers. I need soldier. I just need the one." Azazel confused to Sam.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Well, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. But what I need ... is a leader."

"To lead who?" Sam asked, he was trying to figure out why this was happening to him.

"Oh, I've already got my army. Or, I will soon, anyway. And you wouldn't really be leading. You'll be a commander to the young leader. Your cute little nephew." Azazel said with a smirk.

"You son of a bitch." Sam said.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed. I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? Max Miller and Andy's brother, what's-his-name? They weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation. And why do you think that I've been keeping close tabs on Shia and the baby, that child will be the next ruler."

"My generation? And the next ruler?"

"Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours. That's why I'm here, Sam. I wanna give you the inside track. You're tough. You're smart. You're well-trained, thanks to your daddy. Sam - Sammy - you're my favorite."

"You ruined my life. You killed everyone I love."

"The cost of doing business, I'm afraid. I mean, sweet little Jessica - she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp, on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts."

"What about my mom?" Sam asked softly, he was trying to forget the future of him and Jessica that Azazel provided.

"That was bad luck." Azazel said with a shrug.

"Bad luck?"

"She walked in on us. Wrong place, wrong time."

"What does that mean?"

"It wasn't about her. It was about you. It's always been about you."

"What?"

There was a long pause, Azazel stood there for a little bit but he then heard Shia scream in pain. It's been hours since he checked out on her.

"I would show you what I mean but Shia is in labor and I have to make sure the kid is alright."

"She's in labor?" Sam quickly asked. Sam's heart was racing for her.

"That's not your problem." Azazel told him before snapping his hands. Sam woke up and felt disappointed. Sam hoped that Shia was close so he could try to find her.

"Sam! Sam! Ava's missing." Jake said as he walked back in the room.

Outside, near the edge of the woods, Bobby, Tanner, and Dean pull up in the Impala.

"Well, it looks like the rest of the way's on foot." Bobby said to Tanner and Dean. They get out of the impala, open the trunk and grab guns. Tanner looked down as she grabbed a couple of guns.

"I'm sure Sam and Shia are fine, Tanner." Bobby said to Tanner. Tanner gave him a light smile.

"Let's go." Dean said hurriedly, he was ready to go, he was ready to find his girlfriend and brother.

Sam was on the ground, winded, and Jake and Sam watch each other as Jake approaches. As Jake suddenly made a fast approach to kick Sam, Sam kicked out himself; the two exchange blows with Sam on the ground, and then he leverages himself up. Each land multiple blows; one blow hits Sam's right arm and shoulder with a bone crunching sound, knocking him down again. He gets up quickly although clearly in pain. Jake approached and swings at Sam, but Sam ducks out of the way and Jake's punch goes through a wooden railing, temporarily holding him. Sam knees him several times, then kicks him down. As Jake laid there, winded, Sam picks up the iron bar that Jake was using and knocks him out. Sam approaches the unconscious Jake, consideringly, and lifted the bar as if to strike - he hesitated a moment, then tosses the bar to the ground.

Just as he tosses it aside, he heard from a distance Dean and Tanner calling his name.

"Sam!" Dean called out.

"Sam!" Tanner called out along with Dean.

Sam heard his brother and friend, then turned toward him, still clutching his arm, and nearly staggering with exhaustion. He sees Dean, Tanner, and Bobby approaching, with flashlights, towards him. They walk toward each other, in the rain.

"Dean! Tanner! Bobby!" Sam said our with relief and happiness.

Jake suddenly wakes up. He grabs the knife that Sam had placed on the ground.

"Sam, look out!" Dean shouted as he picked up his pace. It was too late. Jake stabbed the knife right through Sam's back. Dean took off running for them.

"Noooo!" Dean and Tanner shouted out in unison.

Jake twists the knife, creating a massive wound, before running away. Sam, gasping, falls to his knees. While Bobby chases after Jake, Dean slides to the ground in front of Sam. Tanner thought it was wise to just stand there, the spread of grief went through her body. She knew it was coming. Dean grabbed at Sam's clothing, trying to keep him conscious.

"No, Sam!" Dean said to Sam. Sam fell forward onto Dean's shoulder. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sam. Sam! Hey! Hey, hey. Come here. Let me look at you." Dean places his hand on the wound in Sam's back, covering his entire palm in blood.

"Hey, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, all right? Sammy? Sam! Hey, listen to me. We're gonna patch you up, okay? You'll be good as new. Huh? I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna take you care of you. I've got you. That's my job, right? Watch out for my pain-in-the-ass little brother? Sam? Sam! Sam! Sammy!" Sam's eyes slid shut. His entire body slumps forward.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, God. Oh, God." Dean said with tears streaming down his face. Dean rocked Sam in his arms as he died. Tanner let her tears fall freely as she watched the man she has feelings for die right in front of her.

"Sam!" Dean yelled out, as he fell into grief.


	31. Chapter 31: All Hell Breaks Loose Pt2

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, and the birds chirped the happiest song they could. It was a dark day for Dean, his brother is dead and his girlfriend is missing. Dean stood near Sam's body, staring at it. All the memories of his childhood would flash through his mind. It was upsetting that he lost his brother, it was almost unbearable.

"Dean? Brought you this back." Bobby said carrying a bucket of fresh chicken, he set it on the table for Dean.

"No, thanks. I'm fine." Dean said, it was almost a mumble.

"You should eat something." Bobby suggested.

"I said I'm fine." Dean reassured him, but it was not believable at all. Dean took a swig from his flask. Ah, sweet taste of alcohol.

"Dean... I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... we bury Sam?"

"No." Dean disagreed as he took one more swig from his flask.

"We could maybe..."

"What? Torch his corpse? Not yet."

"I want you to come with me." Bobby suggested, he didn't want Dean to feel alone at this point.

"I'm not going anywhere." Dean told him sternly.

"Dean, please."

"Would you cut me some slack?"

"I just don't think you should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit, I could use your help." Bobby said. Dean snorted in response. "Something big is going down - end-of-the world big."

"Well, then let it end!" Dean yelled. Bobby wanted to shake his head and tell Dean how much of an ass he's being but he decided not to, he knew what Dean was feeling. So, he did not judge his actions because of his grieving.

"You don't mean that."

"You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'd turn around, and get the hell out of here." Dean said as he got up in Bobby's face. Bobby stood there and shook his head. Dean suddenly shoved Bobby closer to the door. "Go!" Dean paused then contritely, he said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go."

"You know where I'll be." Bobby said as he turned around, he turned his back on Dean and left the room. Dean swallowed hard, and looked at Sam's body; a tear fell from his eye.

Shia walked around the room slowly, in a way it was soothing her labor pains. Shia had come to the idea that she was placed in an abandoned storm shelter, to which she was right. There was door but somehow Azazel has it to where she can't get out. It was not like Azazel wasn't taking care of her, she had heat or air conditioning, she had water and food, a warm bed where she will give birth on soon. Shia was glad that the demon isn't hurting her but she does not want to be around the demon, she wanted to be somewhere her safety was guaranteed.

"Why don't you just let me go?" Shia asked Azazel as she slowly took her seat on a comfortable chair near her. "I promise I won't kill you later."

"Is that suppose to intimidate me?" Azazel teasingly asked Shia as he crossed his arms.

"I don't know. Is it working?"

"You have a lot of spunk and personality. I'll give you that."

"Why plan to take my child from me? Who takes a baby away from it's mother?"

"I do."

"Fuck you." Shia bitterly spat at Azazel. The swear word did not phase Azazel at all, he only smiled at Shia. He then walked towards the door of the storm shelter. "Where are you going?"

"I have some business to tend to. See ya, pretty lady." As soon as Azazel left Shia was hit with another contraction, her reaction was to whimper at the unbearable pain.

In the room where Dean stared at Sam's dead body, Dean just stayed in the same spot. He allowed the childhood memories to roam around in his mind. Sam was his favorite part of his childhood, he didn't care about the pizza, pie, or chicks. All he cared for was Sam, at least he felt that way before meeting Shia. God, he missed her as much as he missed Sam. He felt alone, sad, and depressed.

"You know, when we were little- and you couldn't been more than 5- you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he'd take off for days at a time? I remember I begged you, "Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know." I just wanted you to be a kid... Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you... Keep you safe... Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job... I had one job...

And I screwed it up. I blew it. And for that, I'm sorry. I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. And now I guess I'm just supposed to let you down, too.

How can I? How am I supposed to live with that? What am I supposed to do? Sammy. God. What am I supposed to do?" Dean spoke to Sam but mostly to himself because he was the only one listening. Dean yelled out. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"

It was night out the Impala engine revving, headlights turned on and Dean driving recklessly, looking pale and determined. He stopped on a dirt road and inserted several items into a box, including a fake photo ID of himself. He buried the box in the middle of a crossroad and stood still. Several seconds pass in silence, as Dean looked right and left.

"Oh come on already. Show your face, you bitch!" Dean impatiently yelled out to the demon he knows that can hear him. Suddenly, a beautiful woman in a black dress appeared near him.

"Easy sugar, you'll wake the neighbors." The female demon teasingly remarked as she flashed red eyes for a moment. "Dean. It is so, so good to see you. I mean it. Look at you. Gone and got your family killed and your girlfriend kidnapped. All alone in the world. It's too sweet. Excuse me, you're gonna have to give me a moment. Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses."

"I should send you straight back to hell." Dean sinisterly remarked in a matter of fact manner.

"Oh, you should. But you won't. And I know why."

"Oh yeah?" Dean challenged, but he knew that she knew what he wanted.

"Yeah. Following in Daddy's footsteps. You wanna make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead, and-let me guess- you're offering up your own soul?"

"There are a hundred other demons who'd love to get their hands on it. And it's all yours. All you got to do is bring Sam back. And give me ten years- ten years, and then you come for me."

"You must be joking."

"That's the same deal you give everybody else."

"You're not everybody else." The demon said as she leaned in a whispered in Dean's ear. "Why would I want to give you anything? Keep your gutter soul. It's too tarnished, anyway."

"Nine years." Dean said as he nodded.

"No."

"Eight."

"You keep going, I'll keep saying no." The demon told Dean as she crossed her arms.

"Okay, five years. Five years, and my bill comes due. That's my last offer- five years or no deal."

"Then no deal." The demon said after she leaned into Dean as if she was about to seal a deal, she was teasing him.

"Fine." Dean said in hopes that she would change her mind.

"Fine. Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint." The demon said as she began to walk away. Dean flinched as her words hit him like a brick wall.

"Wait."

"It's a fire sale, and everything must go." The demon softly said to Dean.

"What do I have to do?" Dean asked her.

"First of all, quit groveling. Needy guys are such a turnoff. Look... Look, I shouldn't be doing this. I could get in a lot of trouble. But what can I say? I got a blind spot for you, Dean. You're like a... puppy. You're just too fun to play with." The demon said to Dean and with a sigh she said. "I'll do it."

"You'll bring him back?" Dean asked hopefully.

"I will. And because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one year, and one year only. But here's the thing. If you try and welch or weasel your way out, then the deal is off. Sam drops dead. He's back to rotten meat in no time. So... It's a better deal than your dad ever got. What do you say?" As soon as those words left her mouth Dean didn't waste any time to reply, he grabbed the demon and kissed her to seal the deal.

Sam's eyes opened wide and he sat up on the mattress, looking around, confused, and breathing heavily.

In the motel room in the early morning, Sam was standing in front of a mirror, examining his back, wincing, with a look of pain. There was a scar from where the knife was stabbed into his spine. The motel door opened and Dean entered the room.

"Sammy? Thank god." Dean said with so much relief, it was like massive weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"Hey." Sam said. Dean pulled Sam into a tight embracement, Sam had no choice but to hug back but it was pain for him.

"Owwww. Uh, Dean..."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man. I'm just... I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all." Dean told his baby brother with a smile, Sam nodded at him. "Come on, sit down."

"Okay. Dean... what happened to me?"

"Well, what do you remember?"

"I-I saw you and Bobby, and... I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like... white-hot, you know, and then you started running at me, and... that's about it."

"Yeah, that- that kid, stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood, you know... It was pretty touch and go for awhile." Dean lied smoothly to Sam. It's not like Dean wanted to lie to his brother, he just didn't want him to know about the deal just yet.

"But Dean, you can't- you can't patch up a wound that bad."

"No, Bobby could. Who was that kid, anyway?" Dean said as he changed the subject about patching up the wound.

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?"

"No, he disappeared into the woods."

"We got to find him, Dean. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart." Sam said angrily as he stood up, Dean stood up also.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right? Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?" Dean asked Sam. Sam nodded. "I'm starving. Come on."

The Winchester men were both seated at a table while they ate some food. Sam was telling Dean all he knew about what was going on.

"And that's when you guys showed up." Sam told Dean with a small sigh.

"That's awful. Poor Andy."

"The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive."

"He told you that?" Dean asked.

"Yep." Sam said but then scoffed. "He appeared in a dream."

"He tell you anything else?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he said your kid is the fate of mankind basically." Sam told his brother. Dean raised his eyebrow, and his face was a bit red. He was getting angry, he knew that his child could never he that title. It will just be a normal baby, Michael told him so. "You know, what I don't get, Dean, is if the demon only wanted one of us, then how did Jake and I both get away?"

"Well, I mean, they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over." Dean said as he ate a large bite of the pizza and turning away from Sam. "So now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what's he gonna do with him?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we got to stop him."

"Well, hold on. You need to get your rest. We got time."

"No, we don't. This bastard has Shia and your unborn baby. Why aren't you wanting to go find that son of a bitch?"

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first. And as for Shia, she's strong. Okay? She can hold him off a little longer." Dean said as he forced Sam back in his seat.

"Well did you call the roadhouse? They know anything?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Dean said as he looked away from Sam.

"Dean... what is it?"

"The roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Probably Ellen- a lot of other hunters, too." Dean told Sam as he sat down by the table again.

"Demons?" Sam asked with tears in his house.

"Yeah, we think so. We think because Ash found something."

"What did he find?"

"Bobby's working on that right now."

"Well, come on then. Bobby's only a few hours away." Sam said as he stood up once more.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop, Sam, stop! Damn it. You almost died in there. I mean, what would I 've - can't you just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh? Just for a little bit?" Dean said as he grabbed Sam's shoulders after standing up.

"I'm sorry. No." Sam told his big brother. Dean only shook his head.

Bobby was in his study room, but he wasn't doing a lot of studying; he was doing a lot of worrying. He was worried about Dean, he was worried about Tanner as her grieving was getting worse by the minute. He was also worried about his daughter and unborn grandchild. Tanner walked past Bobby's study room and to the kitchen where she began to make some tea. Bobby followed her into the kitchen.

"Tanner, do you want something to eat?" Bobby asked as he placed a book he was looking at on the kitchen table.

"No, I'm fine." Tanner mumbled quietly. "I should of told him."

"Tanner-"

"No, Bobby, I should have told him how much I loved him. I can't get that chance now." Tanner said as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Bobby was about to comfort her until he heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it. You just make your tea."

Bobby made his way to the door and opened it, he looked at Sam with astonishment.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean said as he looked at Bobby and looked away almost immediately.

"Hey, Bobby." Sam greeted with a smile.

"Sam. It's good to ... see you up and around."

"Yeah ... thanks for patching me up." Sam said as he patted Bobby on the shoulder and walked past him into the house.

"Don't mention it." Bobby said as Dean followed Sam into the house. Bobby looked at Dean hard, vibrating with unspoken emotion.

"Well Sam's better. And we're back in it now, so... what do you know?" Dean stiffly said. Sam looked at Dean curiously, he definitely took note of Dean's attitude.

"Bobby, who's at the do-" Tanner began to say but was stopped by the figure of Sam standing beside Dean, for a moment she thought she was going crazy but then she realized she wasn't.

"Hey, Tanner." Sam spoke to her with a smile, although she looked sad and depressed to Sam she looked beautiful. Tanner didn't speak any words, she just walked up to Sam, grabbed his neck and pulled him down so her lips could meet his. The kiss was sweet and passionate, unforgettable.

"Hey." Tanner said to Sam after the kiss they shared, Sam smiled at her and held her close to him. There was another knock at the door. Tanner walked over and opened it. It was Michael and Julius. "Oh my! What are you guys doing here?"

"It's starting." Michael said after he gotten a hug from Tanner.

"What's started?" Bobby asked from inside his house.

"The birth of my little niece or nephew, of course. Where is Shia?" Julius said with the happiest smile, but then he noticed that no one else was smiling. "Where is she?"

"The demon has her." Dean said almost quietly. Julius and Michael shared a look of sadness.

"He's ahead of us." Michael said with a shake of his head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tanner asked as she crosses her arms.

"It means that we have to find Shia before she gives birth. The demon will take the baby and kill Shia." Julius said as he walked past Tanner and into Bobby's house.

"I'll show you all what I've found." Bobby said to all the young people in his house as he walked to the kitchen. "Well, I found something. But I'm not sure what the hell it means."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Demonic omens... like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightning storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." Bobby said as he pointed to Wyoming on a map. "All around here, except for one place... Southern Wyoming."

"Wyoming?" Dean asked slightly confused.

"Yeah. That one area's totally clean - spotless. It's almost as if..."

"What?" Julius asked.

"The demons are surrounding it."

"But you don't know why?" Dean asked trying to put the puzzle pieces together.

"No, and by this point my eyes are swimming. Sam, Tanner, and you boys, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't."

"Yeah, sure." Sam answered for all of them.

"Come on, Dean. I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug 'em in." Bobby said to Dean motioning to the door that leads outside.

"Yeah." Dean said making his way out.

Dean and Bobby walked in the junkyard. Finally, after about 1/4 of a mile into the junkyard Bobby stopped and turned to face Dean.

"You stupid ass! What did you do?" Bobby asked Dean with anger. Dean looked away from him. "What did you do?!" Bobby pushed Dean. "You made a deal... For Sam, didn't you? How long did they give you?"

"Bobby."

"How long?!"

"One year."

"Damn it, Dean."

"Which is why we gotta find this yellow-eyed son of a bitch. That's why I'm gonna kill him myself. I mean, I got nothing to lose now, right?" Dean said to Bobby.

Bobby grabbed Dean by the collar. "I could throttle you!"

"What, and send me downstairs ahead of schedule?" Dean smarted off.

"What is it with you Winchesters, huh? You, your dad. You're both just itching to throw yourselves down the pit." Bobby said as he let go of Dean.

"That's my point. Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here. At least this way, something good could come out of it, you know? I-I-It's like my life could mean something."

"What? And it didn't before?! Have you got that low of an opinion of yourself? Are you that screwed in the head?!"

"I couldn't let him die, Bobby. I couldn't. He's my brother." Dean said as he started to choke up with emotions.

"How is your brother gonna feel when he knows your going to hell? How'd you feel when you knew your dad went for you? How is Shia going to feel when she finds out about this? What will she tell your kid one day? Huh?! Did you think about that?!" Bobby yelled at Dean. Dean stood there for a moment, he realized that he didn't think of Shia or his kid when he made that deal.

"You can't tell them. You take a shot at me, whatever you got to do, but please don't tell them. Especially Shia."

Bobby began to cry and grabbed Dean by the chin. Suddenly, there was a clank from a distant part of the junkyard. Bobby and Dean crawled to the side of a car, and grabbed the intruder. Once they had her by the shoulders, they recognized her as Ellen.

"Ellen?" Dean asked and she nodded and started to cry. "Ellen. Oh, God."

Ellen and Bobby sat at a table. He poured her a shot of liquid from a flask and pushed it towards her.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" Ellen asked. She was annoyed to have to go through the whole 'Are you a supernatural threat?' process.

"Just a belt of Holy Water. Shouldn't hurt." Bobby told her sternly as he crossed his arms.

"Whiskey now, if you don't mind." Ellen said after she lifted the water to her lips and drank the holy water.

"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asked her.

"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else. But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck. Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice. He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes." Ellen explained and with each sentence and each moment she relived broke her heart.

"Sorry, Ellen." Sam said sympathetically.

"A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live." Ellen said and then scoffed. "Lucky me."

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe." Bobby said bringing it to everyone's attention.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement."

"Demons get what was in it?" Tanner asked.

"No." Ellen said as she pulled out a map from her pocket, unfolding it and setting it down on the table. It has several black lines and X's on it.

"Wyoming. What does that mean?" Julius asked as he pointed out the lines.

It was mid evening and Bobby was reading from a large book. "I don't believe it." Bobby said as he set the book on the table for everyone to see.

"What? You got something?" Sam asked, he was shock that it didn't take long for Bobby to find anything.

"A lot more than that. Each of these X's is an abandoned frontier church- all mid-19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt." Bobby told them as he pointed to each mark on the map.

"Samuel Colt- the demon-killing, gunmaking Samuel Colt?" Dean asked.

"Yep. And there's more. He built private railway lines connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." Bobby showed them what he found and as he connect the markings it was made out to be a star.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is." Michael said for the first time in a while. Seeing how things play out was allowing Michael to figure out the deeper meanings to everything, maybe he could figure out where his sister was hidden.

"It's a Devil's Trap. A 100-square mile Devil's Trap." Sam whispered but loud enough where everyone heard him.

"That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross." Dean said with an almost proud expression.

"I've never heard of anything that massive. And I've been in the business for a while." Ellen said, but mostly to herself.

"No one has." Julius said to her.

"And after all these years none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?" Dean asked.

"Definitely." Sam said as he tried to wrap his head around things.

"How do you know?" Tanner asked Sam as she crossed her arms.

"All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

"Yeah, well... they're trying." Bobby mumbled.

"Why? What's inside?" Ellen asked.

"That's what I've been looking for. And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle." Dean said with a small sigh.

"Well what's so important about a cemetery or... what's Colt trying to protect?"

"Well, unless ..."

"Unless what?" Bobby asked.

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Now that's a comforting thought." Ellen mumbled sarcastically.

"Yeah, you think?" Dean said just as sarcastic.

"Could they do it, Bobby? Could they get inside?" Sam asked.

"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full-blood demon gets across." Bobby said with a shake of his head.

"No." Sam said but paused right after as if he figured something out. "But I know who could."

"You do?" Tanner asked. Sam nodded and grabbed his coat and walked out the house, Dean following soon after.

"Here's the plan. Ellen, Tanner, you come with us. You boys...you find my daughter." Bobby said as he grabbed his jacket and walked out his house.

It was night out, a cemetery gate opened and Jake entered, walking towards a crypt. Dean was standing behind a large tomb, a gun in his hand.

"Howdy, Jake." Sam said darkly.

Sam, Bobby, Tanner, and Ellen appeared from the shadows, guns raised.

"Wait... you were dead. I killed you." Jake said with eyes widen, he was looking at Sam like he's seen a ghost.

"Yeah? Well next time, finish the job." Sam said but he was sure to take note of Jake's actions.

"I did! I cut clean through your spinal cord, man." Jake said. Sam glanced at Dean, who lowered his eyes briefly. "You can't be alive. You can't be."

"Okay, just take it real easy there, son." Bobby said as he took his gun off safety.

"And if I don't?" Jake said pointing his gun at everyone.

"Wait and see." Sam replied sinisterly.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you gonna do- kill me?"

"It's a thought."

"You had your chance. You couldn't."

"I won't make that mistake twice." Sam said to him. Tanner glanced at Sam, she was shocked. She couldn't believe that Sam was being this dark. Jake began to laugh.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" Dean asked with a sly smirk on his face.

"Hey Lady, do me a favor. Put that gun to your head." Jake said. Ellen shakily pointed her gun at her temple. "See that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Let her go." Tanner demanded.

"Shoot him." Ellen said with a trembling voice.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off. Everybody, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart. Okay. Thank you." Jake said. All four dropped their guns, Tanner and Sam dropped it by choice because Jake's power did not work on them.

Jake turned around and pulled the Colt out of his pocket. While he was inserting it into the crypt, Dean and Bobby grabbed Ellen before she could shoot herself as Sam shot Jake four times in the back. Jake fell onto the ground, and Sam walked to stand over him.

"Please... don't. Please." Jake said as he gasped for air.

Sam shot Jake three more times in the chest. Blood spattered onto his face, Tanner stood there and watched in horror. She knew that what Sam just did was pure cold blooded, and it wasn't what Sam would usually do. 'I guest in this case it's different, right?' Tanner thought to herself as the scene would replay in her head. Ellen and Bobby walked past Sam, with Bobby staring at him hard. Dean walked over to look at Jake, then Sam, who wiped the blood from his face.

The Winchesters, Tanner, Ellen, and Bobby looked over to the crypt as two separate engravings on the crypt spin in different directions, then stopped.

"Oh, no." Bobby said almost above a whisper.

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen said with her voice full of concern.

"It's hell."

Dean pulled the Colt from the Crypt as if trying to stop whatever was starting from happening, but it was too late. Hell was about to break loose.

"Take cover- now!" Bobby yelled out in demand as he ran down the steps.

All five of the hunters ran behind tombstones as the doors to the crypt bursted open. A large black mass erupts from the other side and shoots outward. Black demon smoke continued to pour from the crypt, with individual trails of smoke haring off in different directions. Bobby, Tanner, Ellen, Dean and Sam took cover behind some tombstones nearby.

"What the hell just happened?!" Dean yelled out, hoping for an answer.

"That's a devil's gate. A damn door to hell." Ellen told Dean as loud as she could for him to hear her. The railway iron was bent in two and a pair of legs crossing, while a black demon smoke trail goes out the other way.

"Come on! We have to shut that gate!" Tanner yelled as she ran up to the crypt door with Bobby, Sam, and Ellen following her. Dean checked the Colt for bullets.

"If the demon gave this to Jake... then maybe..." Dean said amongst himself. Thunder crashed and the Yellow Eyed Demon appeared behind Dean. He flung the Colt out of Dean's hand and into his own. Dean looked astonished.

"Boys shouldn't play with Daddy's guns." Azazel said in a taunting way. He threw Dean into the air, where Dead hit his head on a tombstone and laid there, stunned.

Bobby, Tanner, Ellen, and Sam were struggling to close the crypt door. Sam looked over and saw Dean down, and then saw the Yellow Eyed Demon who looked at Sam and smiled.

"Dean!" Sam said he let go of the gate door and ran toward his brother.

"I'll get to you in a minute, champ. But I'm proud of you- knew you had it in you." Azazel said as he threw Sam to a tree near by. Dean was struggling upright. Azazel threw him against a post. "Sit a spell. So, Dean... I gotta thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people, unless a deal is made. I know, red tape- it'll make you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation. Now, I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad. I liked him better than Jake, anyhow. Tell me- have you ever heard the expression, "If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is?"

"You call that deal good?" Dean bitterly spat at Azazel once he thought about his time limit.

"Well, it's a better shake than your dad ever got. And you never wondered why? I'm surprised at you. I mean...you saw what your brother just did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it? How certain are you that what you brought back, is 100%, pure, Sam? You of all people should know, that's what's dead, should stay dead. Anyway... thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now, anyway. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family." As Azazel cocked the Colt and aimed it at Dean, John Winchester grabbed the demon from behind. The body the demon possessed falls to the ground, the gun still in hand, while John and the cloud of smoke that was Azazel wrestled. The demon pushed him to the ground and entered the body once more. When he stood up, Dean was pointing the Colt at him, and shot him in the heart. The demon then fell to the ground, dead.

Bobby, Tanner, and Ellen finally closed the gate doors and turn to see John. Dean stood up and faced his dad. John walked forward, and smiled at Dean, putting his hand on Dean's shoulder. Both are teary, and Sam approaches; Dean and John both looked at Sam, and John and Sam nod at each other.

"Take care of that baby, Dean. I'm proud of you. Both of you." John said to both of his boys. With another look at Dean, John stepped back and disappeared into white light. Dean and Sam looked at each other.

The Winchester brothers stood over the demon's smoking body, astonished.

"Well, check that off the to-do list." Dean said as he laughed a little to himself.

"You did it." Sam said with a proud look in his eyes.

"I didn't do it alone." Dean said with a small shrug and a gentle smirk at his brother.

"Do you think Dad really... do you think he really climbed outta hell?"

"The door was open. If anyone's stubborn enough to do it... it would be him."

"Where do you think he is now?"

"I don't know." Dean said with small shake of his head.

"I kind of can't believe it, Dean. I mean... our whole lives, everything... has been prepping for this, and now I..." Sam stuttered as she chuckled. "I kind of don't know what to say."

"I do." Dean said as he leaned in closer to the demon body. "That was for our mom... you son of a bitch."

Sam and Dean were walking towards the Impala, Dean opened the door.

"You know, when Jake saw me... it was like he saw a ghost." Dean, stopped, shut the door to stand next to Sam and hear him. Sam scoffed softly. "I mean, hell, you heard him, Dean. He said he killed me."

"Glad he was wrong."

"I don't think he was, Dean. What happened? After I was stabbed?" S said almost putting all the pieces to the puzzle together.

"I already told you." Dean tried to lie smoothly but failed.

"Not everything."

"Sam, we just killed the demon. Can we celebrate for a minute?"

"Did I die?"

"Oh, come on."

"Did you sell your soul for me, like Dad did for you?" Said asked in a demanding tone, he was getting more pissed off as the moment passed.

"Oh, come on! No!" Dean continued to lie. Sam rolled his eyes, he could tell that Dean was lying, so why bother lying?

"Tell me the truth. Dean, tell me the truth."

"Sam..." Dean said softly but only ended up chuckling.

"How long do you get?" Sam asked as he voice broke in emotion.

"One year." Dean told Sam. Sam couldn't help the tears in his eyes, but he nodded anyway. "I got one year."

"You shouldn't have done that. How could you do that? Did you not think about your future? Your kid? Shia? Me?!"

"Don't get mad at me. Don't you do that. I had to. I had to look out for you. That's my job."

"And what do you think my job is?" Sam said with a slight scoff.

"What?"

"You've saved my life over and over. I mean, you sacrifice everything for me. Don't you think I'd do the same for you? You're my big brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna get you out of this. Guess I gotta save your ass for a change." Sam said with a sly smirk to try and lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah."

"Well... Yellow-Eyed Demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate." Ellen said with a slight chuckle, 'Evil never stops lurking the world.' Ellen thought.

"How many you think?" Dean asked.

"Hundred. Maybe two hundred. It's an army. He's unleashed an army." Tanner said with a soft sigh as she placed her hands in her back pocket.

"Hope to hell you boys are ready. 'Cause the war has just begun." Bobby said.

"Well, then...looks like we have work to do." Dean said with a grin, everyone around him gave him a 'No, no shit.' sarcastic, bitch face look. Tanner was about to say a smart ass comment but her phone ringed and it was Julius and Michael, she answered it quickly.

"Hello?" Tanner said as she answered her phone. "You found her?! Where?! She's in labor? Nine centimeters?! Okay! Yeah, we'll be there soon. Love you too. Bye." Tanner shut her phone and looked at everyone with wide eyes.

"What the hell are we waiting for? Let's get to my daughter." Bobby said as he ran back to his truck as fast as he could. Dean stood there in shock before Sam told him that the needed to hurry.

It didn't take two hours as Tanner thought, they were all there 90 minuted top. Dean was the first to sloppily park the impala towards an abandoned home, he then ran out his car and ran towards the back where the storm shelter would be. As he ran down the steps he could hear Shia grunting as the pain of giving birth was hitting her.

"Shia?!" Dean called out as he hurriedly ran over to her, Shia smiled at him. She could barely speak because the pain was hitting her badly. Moments later everyone else came running in, Bobby was the first to make over to his daughter.

"Okay, she's at ten centimeters. It's time to push. Okay? Are you ready?" Michael said after checking Shia one more time. Shia shook her head as tears poured down her face. "You can do this. Okay? I believe in you."

"Okay." Shia breathed out as she was preparing herself to give birth.

"Alright. Dean, I need you to be her support, stand there and hold her hand. Tanner, go help Julius with the wash up area we set up over there at the sink. Sam and Bobby, I need you to prep her legs and bend them towards her but don't bend to hard. And Ellen, I need you to get the scissors and blanket ready." Michael demanded and as he spoke, everyone went into action. "Okay. I'm going to count for you. And push! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." After one push the head was out, and Michael smiled at the sight.

"I see beautiful curly light brown hair." Michael said with a grin.

"You do?" Shia asked with a small smile.

"Well, what did you expect, babe? A blond?" Dean whispered in Shia's ear with a big grin. Shia chuckled a little and shook her head.

"Okay. Push!" Michael shouted and Shi did what she was told and pushed. "I see a shoulder. Oh, I see another shoulder."

"You're doing great, baby girl." Bobby cheered on his daughter as she continued to push.

"Okay. One more push. Big one." Michael told Shia but she cried out and shook her head.

"I can't. I can't."

"Yes, you can, baby. Our kid is almost here. You can do this. I'm here. And everyone else is here. Come on, baby." Dean whispered in her ear. To be honest he was close to tears as he realized that his baby was almost here. Shia pushed as hard as she could, then the beautiful scream of a baby filled the room. Michael looked down and grinned.

"It's a girl." Michael said as laid the new born baby on Shia. Everyone looked at the baby, she was know the love of their lives and there was no denying that. "Hey, Dean, you want to cut the umbilical cord?" Dean nodded and walked over, grabbed the scissors and cut the attachment his daughter had to Shia. Dean and the eyes of everyone had tears in it. Julius reached over and grabbed the little baby girl, carried her to the sink and proceeded to clean her.

It's been nearly three hours since the birth of the beautiful bundle of joy Shia held in her arms.

"She's perfect, Dean." Shia whispered as she looked from Dean to her child.

"And very healthy. 7 pounds and 4 ounces." Julius grinned as he watched his sister hold her small child, he couldn't wait to be able to hold her soon.

"My chunky monkey." Dean cooed at the little girl as she held on tightly to his finger. "Wow, she has a grip."

"She's strong like her daddy, aunt, uncles, grandfathers, and grandmothers. She's definitely a Winchester." Shia said as she stared at her beautiful little girl, she still couldn't believe that she created something so small and precious.

"You're the strong one, baby." Dean said as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Sam watched the scene and couldn't help but smile, he looked at his niece and almost cried again but he chose not to. He was in love with the sweetest, cutest baby Shia cradled in her arms.

"Do you want to hold her, Dean?" Shia asked. Dean was nervous but of course he was going to hold his baby. Shia gently placed the small baby in Dean's arms, she was a lot smaller than Dean expected. He thought he loved her before he held her, but he then realized how much he loved her as he cradled the small infant.

"What's her name going to be?" Michael asked as he pulled out a written birth certificate. "I'll type this up later and put her in the system when I get home."

"Give her a name, babe." Dean said with a smile as he stared down at his daughter.

"Lynx. Lynx Mary-Samantha Anne Winchester."

"Her middle name-" Sam started to say.

"I wanted her to have some part of her grandmother and uncle. I know that Mary would have loved some part of her name in her first grandchild." Shia said with a sincere smile. "And as for your name...I wanted her to have the name of her brave uncle in there somewhere."

"Thank you." Sam said breathlessly. Tanner then softly nudged him in the arm and gave him a smile. Sam placed a arm on her shoulder and pulled her close.

"Lynx Winchester. Welcome to the family." Dean smiled at Lynx as she softly yawned in her sleep. Shia, Bobby, Ellen, Tanner, Sam, Julius, and Michael all smiled at the infant. They were ready to protect her at all causes. Whatever that needed to be done to keep the new member the family safe.


	32. Chapter 32: The Magnificent Seven (3x01)

Two days ago.

Dean stood in the nursery that was set up for his daughter at Bobby's house, he held his small child in his arms, cooing at her.

"Hey kiddo." Dean said to the two day old baby. Lynx moved her finger slightly which caused Dean to smile. He thought even the smallest movements from his daughter was precious.

"I'm your dad." Dean whispered to the sleeping infant. Dean thought he was going crazy when he saw a slight smile on Lynx's face when he said that, the small action made Dean's heart melt. He continued to cradle the baby close to him, the more he stared at her his heart would drop. Dean knew that by the time she starts walking and talking his demon deal would be up, it was like his baby was a time clock for him. Dean quickly shook that image from his mind as stared at his tiny creation. "I love you so much, Lynx."

"Dean?" Shia called out from the stairs she was climbing to get the upstairs hallway.

"I'm in the nursery!" Dean said loudly for Shia to hear him. Dean's loud voice startled Lynx, so the small child cried softly. Dean started to bounce her softly to get to calm down and get quiet. "Shh, Lynx, daddy's here. It's just me."

"Dean," Shia said as she walked in the nursery with a room temperature baby bottle in her hand. Dean turned to look at her and thought she was getting more beautiful by the minute. With Shia being a demigod, she was healing a lot faster from her pregnancy than the average woman would and that was one of the many perks of being a supernatural being. "Hey, do you want me to take her?" Shia softly asked Dean as she walked over to the whimpering baby. Shia gently touched Lynx's cheek which almost calmed her down immediately.

"No, baby, I got her. I love holding her." Dean said as he looked up from his daughter to Shia. "You know, we have to talk."

"Dean, not now. Okay? We have a baby to feed, it's been nearly two hours." Shia said with a frown. She knew about the deal only ten hours of giving birth to her baby, Dean decided to tell her right then and there. And since that night, Shia and Dean have been having slight issues. Well, Shia won't talk to him unless it was about Lynx and it broke Dean's heart.

Dean sat down in the rocking chair Michael bought for the nursery, Shia gave him the feeding bottle and Dean proceeded to feed his baby. Shia smiled softly at the infant when she watched her suck on the nipple of the baby bottle. 'She's definitely a Winchester if she's eating like that.' Shia thought with a slight grin.

Within 20 minutes the bottle was half empty, Dean gave the bottle back to Shia to which she set on the night stand near by. "Can I burp her, Dean?" Shia asked as she held out her arms for Lynx.

"Yeah, of course. She's your baby too." Dean smiled as he gently placed his daughter in Shia's arms. Shia placed small Lynx on her shoulder and gently rubbed and pat her back. After only three minutes, Lynx burped.

"Boy, she sure is a Winchester." Dean said with a chuckle. Shia nodded with a smile as she walked over to the crib and placed Lynx in it. Shia motioned for Dean to be quiet because Lynx was going back to sleep. After about five minutes, Lynx was for sure asleep so both of the parents decided to leave the room and close her door slightly. Shia was about to walk off but Dean grabbed her elbow and motioned for their bedroom. Shia nodded and followed him in the room they shared.

"So, now can we talk?" Dean asked softly as he watched Shia sit on the bed.

"I guess we could but I don't want to." Shia honestly told him as she looked away from him multiple times.

"I'm sorry."

"Dean—"

"No, hear me out. I had to save my brother. Okay? I had to. And I'll be honest and say that at the time, I didn't think about you or our baby and I'm sorry for that."

"Sorry doesn't allow my child to have her father for more than a year, does it?" Shia bitterly stated as she crossed her arms. Dean could feel the anger she had towards and it killed him in a way. He didn't need for everyone to be pissed at him, and the only person who wants mad at him was his own daughter and she's to young to even understand what's going on.

"I messed up, I know that. I can't go back in time and change it, but I will tell you that I love you and Lynx more than anything in the world. You make me smile when I feel like crap, you make me go crazy when you yell at me but it doesn't matter because nothing in this world can make me stop loving you the way I do. I need you to understand that it was my brother dead and you were missing. I was lonely, I had no one to turn to. What was I supposed to do? I was reckless and stupid and I'm sorry. You and our daughter deserves better." Dean said sincerely and full hearted, he meant every word that came out of his mouth. A tear fell from Shia's eyes as she just stared at Dean. She nodded at him and that was enough for Dean, he made his way over to her and pulled her to h and held her close.

"I, uh, I have food I should be making. Tanner, Sam, and Bobby should be hungry soon." Shia said as she pulled away from Dean's embrace. Dean watched as she left the room, he missed her as soon as she left his arms.

Shia walked in the kitchen quickly, she stopped at the refrigerator to open to try to find something for dinner. She grabbed two trays of chicken and turned on the oven. She then prepared the chicken by seasoning it and tossing it in bread crumbs. She laid each chicken perfectly on her oven pan and placed the uncooked meat in the stove.

Shia sat in the kitchen as she waited for the chicken get done. Bobby walked in the kitchen to grab a beer, he noticed Shia sitting alone with her legs crossed and her eyes staring into the distance. Bobby shook his head, she only acts like this when she stressed or upset about something and Bobby figured that in her situation it was stress and her being upset that was bothering her.

"You know, baby girl, being mad at that boy isn't going to change anything." Bobby told his daughter as he took a seat in front of her. Shia shifted her eyes, and when she heard why Bobby said she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Dad—"

"No, you listen to me. He has a year, Shia. Are you really going to spend this year upset and not speaking to him or are you going to enjoy every moment with him and my grand baby? Think about that." Bobby said as he got up from his seat, as he turned to leave the room he looked back at Shia. "And don't roll your eyes at me again."

Dinner was quiet, and awkward. Sam sat beside Tanner, and she sat beside Bobby. Dean and Shia sat right beside each other. Lynx laid in her portable crib Bobby bought for her so she could be downstairs as they ate their food.

"This chicken is so good. You did a great job, baby." Dean said as he devoured his third chicken. Shia smiled and said a simple "Thank you." Lynx started to whimper softly, and Sam stood up and motioned for Dean and Shia to stay down. He walked over to Lynx and picked her up and began to bounce her gently to calm her down. And almost immediately, Lynx was quiet again. She slowly opened her eyes and Sam stood in awe. She has gray beautiful eyes, with a hint of green. She got them from Dean.

"Dean, her eyes remind me of you." Sam said to his brother as he made his way back to the dinner table with Lynx in his arms. Dean looked at his little girl and smiled.

"Well, let's be honest. She does look a lot like a Winchester. She has no features from me, only from her daddy." Shia said with a slight chuckle. It was true.

"My little chunky monkey." Dean said with a chuckle. Shia smiled at the nickname Dean was giving her.

"Ah, I think she's wet herself." Sam said as her felt that her diaper was moist and heavy. Dean got up and Sam gave him his kid.

"I'm going to go change her and get her ready for bed." Dean said as he walked up the stairs with his baby in his arms.

Later that night while everything was silent and everyone was asleep peacefully except for Shia, she tossed and turned as her nightmares were getting to her.

"Dean, don't leave us." Shia mumbled in her sleep. Dean turned to face Shia as his eyes fluttered open. "Don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere, baby." Dean said as he reached his hand up to Shia's cheek. At the touch of his hand, Shia eyes shot open. Dean could tell immediately that she was having a bad dream. "Come here."

Shia cuddled up next to Dean and buried her head in his chest. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, Dean, I don't."

"I'm sorry." Dean said as he rubbed her back, Shia looked in his eyes and placed her lips on his. A sweet, simple kiss.

"Stop apologizing. What's done is done, I guess. The only thing that matters is that you spend as much time with Lynx as possible." Shia said as placed her hand on chest as Dean pulled her closer to him.

"Sam is wanting to leave tomorrow. I want you to come with us." Dean whispered to Shia as her eyes were closing slowly.

"We can bring Lynx until we come upon a hunt, then we can leave her with Julius. He said he would take her as soon as possible." Shia tiredly said as she slowly went to sleep. Dean smiled down at her. He falls more in love with her everyday.

Three days later.

(Warning: Sexual Content. Please, if you are not comfortable, skip down until you see a sign.)

Dean kissed Shia passionately as he placed on the motel bed. Shia hurriedly unbuttoned her shirt as Dean took of his shirt, Dean grabbed her and pulled Shia closer to him. Dean missed this feeling. The kissing and touching, tracing every inch of her body.

"Dean, are you sure about this?" Shia whispered as Dean unhooked her bra, letting her breast hit his chest as he pulled them closer to each other.

"I want this. Do you want this?" Dean asked as his hand cupped Shia's breast to which her nipples harden under his touch. Shia couldn't respond to Dean so instead she kissed him. Pants and underwear flying across the room. Then, finally, Dean and Shia were both naked. Shia just had a baby and Dean couldn't believe how perfect her body looked, he kissed her body gently as he left wet kisses everywhere. Shia flipped the position to where she was on top and started to kiss Dean. Dean pulled her up to where their lips where touching, passionately kissing. Shia grabbed his hard penis and placed it inside her as she slowly moved down on it. Dean and Shia kissed more as their tongues were battling each other, he wanted to taste her as much as she wanted to taste him. Seconds had passed and Shia was well adjusted to Dean's size. Shia started to grind on him which earned a loud moan from Dean. The two was so involved in themselves that they didn't even notice Sam come in.

"Hey, guys, we need to—OH MY GOD!" Sam screamed as he hurriedly closed the door but was sure not to hurt his niece who was in her car seat that he was holding.

Dean noticed Sam but said nothing. Instead he continued to do what he needed to do with his beautiful girlfriend.

They continued to make love.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Later, Sam, Shia, Lynx, and Dean were in the Impala. Silence was over them as Dean drove down the road. Sam looked from his brother to Shia and shook his head.

"Let me see your knife." Sam said with an unamused expression. Shia chuckled to herself as she looked down at the yellow car seat to see her daughter sleeping.

"What for?" Dean asked but he already knew the answer.

"So I can gouge my eyes out." Sam said seriously.

"It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam. How did you think Lynx was made?" Dean said as he looked in the rearview mirror to see Shia stare at their daughter.

"It was parts of you and Shia that I never wanted to see, Dean."

"Hey, I appreciate you giving me a little quality time with my girl." Dean said with a chuckle as he slapped Sam's thigh.

"Yeah, no problem." Sam said quietly as he looked out the window of the Impala.

"Really? Well, I got to say, I was expecting a weary sigh or an eye roll, something." Dean said as he raised an eyebrow.

"No, not at all. You two deserve to have a little fun. Besides, I like spending time with Lynx." Sam said with a soft smile as he thought about small moments he had with his niece.

"Well, I am in violent agreement with you there." Dean said with a chuckle, Shia playfully rolled her eyebrows.

"What did my dad get?" Shia asked.

"Not much. A crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Ahh, could be demonic omens –"

"Or could just be a bad crop and a bug problem." Dean said.

"Yeah, but it's our only lead."

"Any freaky, weird deaths?" Shia asked as she looked from Sam to Lynx. Shia thought her daughter was so beautiful that she couldn't stop looking at her.

"Nothing Bobby could find – not yet, anyway."

"It's weird, man. I mean, the night the devil's gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?" Dean said trying to stay focus on the road.

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen. You'd think it would be "Apocalypse Now," but it's been five days and bubkis." Dean said as his grip on the steering wheel got tighter. Sam and Shia looked at him confused. "What are the demons waiting for?"

"Beats me."

"It's driving me crazy. I tell you, if it's gonna be war, I wish it would just start already."

"I don't know, man. Be careful what you wish for."

"Hey, Dean, don't forget. We have to drop Lynx off with Julius. He keeps texting me and telling me that we need to hurry up, he wants to see his niece." Shia said with a slight chuckle, but Sam and Dean could see right through her. They both knew that Shia really didn't want to leave her baby but she knew she had to. It's hard to be a mom and a supporting girlfriend at once. Dean was not so happy about leaving his baby with anyone but he knew that Julius loved Lynx and he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I don't see why she couldn't stay with Tanner." Dean said as he drove the speed limit which Sam and Shia was not use to. It seems like since Lynx was born he'd slow down on his driving and went the limit he should, Dean is not aware of this yet but he's a great father.

"You know she's out of town exploring her schooling options." Shia reminded Dean once again. Shia hated talking about Tanner leaving to go to school because she knew that the fling her and Sam are having will end soon and she felt bad for Sam.

"Yeah, I forgot...again. I'll have Lynx there in two hours." Dean said speeding up slightly. Shia smiled at Dean and looked back down at her sleeping baby. Shia couldn't wait to give her to Julius, finish the hunt, and get her baby back.

The next morning, Dean, Shia and Sam pulled up outside a farmhouse. Dean got out munching on a burger. Sam and Shia got out after Dean, Shia shook her head because eating a burger so early has got to be unhealthy. Shia looked at her surroundings and started to that note of things, she noticed that the air was filled with the sound of cicadas, which was never a good sound.

"Hear those cicadas?" Sam asked as they walked towards Bobby.

"That can't be a good sign." Both Dean and Shia said in unison. Dean looked at her and gave Shia a sly smile, he then placed his hand on the small of her back as they continued to walk towards Bobby.

"No. No, it can't." Sam said with a shake if his head.

"So,we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby said after greeting them all.

"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol." Dean said in a jokingly way. Shia, Sam, and Bobby, however, did not find his joke funny at all. Shia scoffed softly at him as she shook her head. Dean gave her a 'What? What did I do?' look but Shia only ignored him.

"So, Bobby, what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?" Sam said quickly to change the subject.

"Well, let's find out. Looks like the swarm's ground zero." Bobby said as they all walked towards the farm house door. "Where's my grand baby?"

"Oh, she's with Julius. He wanted to keep her for a bit, so I let him." Shia said with a small smile as she thought of Lynx. Each moment with her not being around Lynx, her heart ached. Shia missed her terribly.

"Candy gram!" Dean said loudly as he pounded on the door. There was no answer but cicadas chirping. Dean picked the lock and opened the door; they all covered their noses in disgust.

"That's awful." Shia muffled as her hand was cover her nose and mouth.

"That so can't be a good sign." Dean said in a disgusted tone. Dean entered the room first, Sam and Shia behind him with their gun drawn. They crept through the house; stopping in the second room, they can hear what sounds like panicked screams.

"You hear that?" Sam asked out loud. They kicked open the next door; the sounds turn out to be coming from a television set playing, apparently, an episode of "Dallas"; a family of three was seated on the couch, several days dead. Sam, Shia and Dean recoiled at the increased stench.

"Oh, my god." Shia said as she finally noticed the clearly deceased family. Bobby entered through the other side of the room and also recoiled in horror.

"Bobby, what the hell happened here?" Sam asked as he regain the strength to speak in the disgusting stench that filled the air.

"I don't know." Bobby said with a simple shrug.

"Check for sulfur." Dean said.

"Yeah."

The four of them investigated the room. Dean heard a noise out front and whistled quietly, then signals to the others that he's going to go check it out. Bobby and Sam circle around the other direction while Shia follows behind Dean quietly. Out front, Dean exited cautiously, gun drawn, and looked around. Shia hide behind a door. As Dean came around the house he was knocked to the ground by a man with a shotgun a woman came up behind him. Shia then quickly drawn her gun and pointed at both of the strangers.

"You have exactly three seconds to drop you gun and back the fuck up." Shia said seriously as soon as she clicked the safety off her gun. Shia couldn't see but Dean was slightly smirking with a raised eyebrow. He was impressed at how serious Shia was being, but it also scared him how dark she could get when it comes to him and her family.

"We don't mean any trouble." The dark skinned man said as he raised his hands up with gun in one hand.

"Isaac? Tamara?" Bobby asked as he came for the other side of the room.

"Bobby. What the hell are you doing here?" The lady, known as Tamara asked with a slight smile.

"Dad? You know them?" Shia asked as she lowered her gun slowly.

"Dad? Well, I'll be damned, you're Shia. Bobby's adopted daughter. We've heard a lot about you." Isaac said with a smirk as he lowered his arms being in he wasn't so intimidated by Shia anymore.

"I could ask the same." Bobby said quickly as he noticed Shia still glaring at the people in front if them, which was not like her at all.

"Heya, Bobby." Issac greeted as he reached to shake his hand.

"Hello. Bleeding here." Dean said raising his arm pitifully from the ground and waving for attention. Shia slightly smiled at him and got on her knees to check for any bruises, blood, and cuts. She helped Dean up, and before she stepped back Dean grabbed her and kissed her quickly but passionately. "Thanks for trying to protect me."

"Always." Shia whispered as she walked past him and outside to get some air.

"Why don't we talk about this at our place? It stinks in here." Isaac said with a small, serious chuckle.

In the house of Tamara and Issac, Shia, and Sam stood in the living room while Dean was on the phone on the other side of the room.

"Jenny! That is a beautiful name. That's my sister's name, actually." Dean said into the phone as he lied smoothly to whoever was talking with him.

"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" Issac asked as he came from upstairs.

"Well, where'd you leave it?"

"I don't know, dear. That's why I'm asking." Shia rolled her eyes at the names "honey" and "dear," but in a way she admired how happy they looked.

"Palo Santo?" Sam asked out of curiosity.

"It's holy wood, from Peru. It's toxic to demons like holy water. Keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them." Tamara informed Sam and Shia, but mostly Sam. Tamara looked in a bag and pulled out a large, pointed stake. She hands it to Isaac with an affectionate smile.

"Thank you, dear." Isaac said as he gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me." Tamara said softly to her husband.

"So, how long you two been married?" Sam asked as he watched the affectionate couple interact.

"Eight years this past June." Tamara said happily. A little too happy for Shia's taste, so she turned from them and try to find something else to look at. That action didn't go unnoticed by Sam

"The family that slays together..." Isaac simply said with a shrug.

"Right. I'm with you there. So, how'd you get started?" Sam asked. Shia actually turned around to see their faces as they answered the question, awkward silence hit the room as Tamara and Isaac look at each other, with hard memories. 'Trouble in paradise.' Shia thought. "I, uh, you know... I'm sorry. It's not – that's none of my business."

"No, no. It's – it's all right." Tamara said with a sad smile, and Shia saw right through the both of them. Shia didn't understand why, but she hated them.

"Well, Jenny, if you look as pretty as you sound, I'd love to have an ... "appletini'."Yeah. Call you." Dean said as he hung up, he turned to everyone as he walked towards them. "That was the coroner's tech."

"And?" Shia said bitterly, it was the first word she said since being at the home of Tamara and Isaac. She didn't mean to sound rude but she did.

"Get this – that whole family, cause of death? Dehydration and starvation. There's no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up." Dean informed everyone as he dismissed Shia's attitude.

"But there was a fully stocked kitchen just yards away." Bobby said with a confused but stern tone.

"Right. What is this, a demon attack?" Sam asked with his arms crossed.

"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and I've seen plenty." Bobby said with a slight sigh. Shia just looked down and chose not to speak, she didn't know why but she felt unwanted, worthless. She felt from angry to depressed.

"Well, what now? What should we do?" Dean asked everyone in the room.

"Uh, "we're" not gonna do anything." Isaac said firmly as he crossed his arm. Shia noticed the tone and action, it made her blood boil. Bobby glanced at Shia and he knew something was off, he went to touch her in hopes to calm her down and when he did she was hot, like 119°F hot. Bobby pulled back quickly, Shia noticed and for some reason seeing fear in her father's eyes scared her so in a way it calmed her down.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked trying his best not to be offended.

"You guys seem nice enough, but, this ain't "Scooby-Doo," and we don't play well with others."

"I don't play well with others as well." Shia said bitterly, but it came out as dark. Dean looked at Shia and gave her a look that told her to cool it.

"Well, I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together." Sam said quickly to throw the attention of Shia.

"No offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place."

"No offense?" Dean scoffed.

"Isaac. Like you've never made a mistake." Tamara said admonishingly.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Locked my keys in the car, turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though." Isaac said in a bitter tone, he didn't exactly blamed them but he did.  
"All right. That's enough. I mean it. You speak one more word about it, and I swear." Shia said as she shook her head. If no one was mistaking you could see the steam come out of Shia's ears as she spoke. Dean instantly grabbed her by her shirt and whispered "Calm down."

"Guys, this isn't helping. Shia—" Sam started to speak quietly.

"Look, there are couple hundred more demons out there now. We don't know where they are, when they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us – on _all_ of us." Isaac said with a look of despise, and disappointment. Shia started to walk over there but she was strained by Dean.

"Okay. that's quite enough testosterone for now. You're all welcome to our home. There's two extra rooms upstairs." Tamara said as she pulled Isaac away and headed to their room. As soon as they left all eyes shifted to Shia.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Dean asked immediately with his arms crossed. Bobby and Sam waited for her to answer. Shia rolled her eyes.

"I don't know. Okay? Something is going on and I can't help it. I'm going to go check on my daughter if anyone cares." Shia said as she walked past Dean and pulled out her phone. She was obviously gone from the room and out of ear shot when Dean turned to Bobby and his brother.

"What's wrong with your daughter?" Dean asked. Bobby shook his head and shrugged.

"Don't ask me, boy. I'll never understand women."

Shia stood in the room pacing in front of her made bed where her and Dean will sleep later. Dean decided that he should get some rest and as he walled up the stairs he heard Shia's voice on the phone with he assumed to be Julius.

"You made sure she burped? Okay. How many times did you feed her? Okay, good. Is she sleeping now? Alright, well, give her a big kiss for me. Okay, bye." Shia said into the phone but once the call was over, she sighed.

"Stop worrying, Shia. Lynx is fine." Dean said to his girlfriend as he leaned in the doorway.

"Yeah, I should stop worrying but I can't. She's not even a week old and we easily left her with someone. It's not the life I wanted for her, Dean!" Shia whispered loudly to Dean, she didn't want to make a lot of noise because of her surroundings. She knew other people were trying to sleep.

"And what? You think I wanted it."

"You sure as hell didn't think about it when you sold your soul!" Shia said harshly, and once she did Dean couldn't help but look hurt. Shia noticed his action and completely felt bad about it. "Dean, I—"

"No, it's alright. I know how you feel. Look, I'm only going to say this once to you. I love my baby with all I got. I'd do anything for my kid. So, please, stop using her against me to tell me how you feel. It's not fair to her." Dean said as he walked past Shia and into the bathroom they had in their room for the night. Shia didn't speak another word, instead she got ready for bed and quickly went to sleep.

Shia and Sam looked at the blood evidence that was left by the murder that took place not long ago. Shia looked at San with a shake of her head, Sam motioned for them to walk in the store together. Shia instantly noticed Dean chatting up a witness, a young, attractive blonde woman, Shia also noticed that he rested a hand on her shoulder. Shia didn't know whether to feel jealous or disappointed.

"What happened outside makes you realize how fragile life really is. You got to make every second count." Dean said to the young woman, she nodded in agreement with a small smile. Sam and Shia approached, Sam cleared his throat and Shia glared at the girl.

"Excuse me a minute, would you?" Dean said turning to his brother, he didn't even notice Shia there. Since the small chat the had last night, Sam couldn't help but feel tension between and he knew it wasn't sexual.

"Sure." The blonde replied as she walked away, Shia couldn't help but glare at her as the girl walked past her.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow, Shia crossed her arm waiting for an answer.

"I'm comforting the bereaved. What are you doing?" Dean asked with a shrug.

"Working. Dead body, possible demon attack – that kind of stuff. Things you should be focusing on." Shia said as she made herself noticed by Dean. Dean raised his eyebrow as he smirked to himself.

"Right. I was just doing a little flirting. You know...since I have a year left." Dean said. Sam shook his head automatically feeling sorry for his brother, but Shia wanted to punch him in the face.

"Funny how you want to flirt with other girls. Maybe I should go out and see what's out there." Shia mumbled to herself but Dean heard her, he chose not to say anything before he takes this any further than it needs to be.

"Guys, the case." Sam said as he felt the tension between them thicken.

"Yeah, right, sorry." Dean said as he cleared his throat. Bobby then entered the store in a suit, his hair was slicked back, and facial expression was serious. The Winchester and Shia looked at him, impressed.

"Looking nice there, dad. What were you, a G-man?" Shia asked with a small chuckle.

"Attorney for the D.A.'s office. I just spoke to the suspect." Bobby told them all.

"Yeah? So, what do you think? Is she possessed or what?" Sam quickly asked to move everything along.

"Don't think so. There's none of the usual signs – no blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid. Just, she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure; nothing."

"Maybe she's just some random whack job." Dean concluded. Shia looked at him and shook her head.

"If it had been an isolated incident, maybe, but first the family, now this? I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you boys find anything around here?" Bobby said soon after Dean's conclusion. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"No sulfur, nothing?" Sam asked in a confused way, he figured if it was a demon it would have left some sulfur behind.

"Well, maybe something." Dean said as he nodded to a security camera in the ceiling. Shia looked from the camera and back to Dean. "See? I'm working." He told Shia, she rolled her eyes and walked past him to the security room.

"Is there something I need know about you two?" Bobby asked with a long sigh.

"Nothing I can't handle, Bobby. I'm pushing her buttons." Dean said with a small grin.

"Why?" Sam asked his brother. Sam thought Dean was an idiot for attempting to try Shia.

"It's fun." Dean shrugged.

"Guys, come on, we don't have all day." Shia said from where she stood at the doorway of the security room.

Sam and Shia were seated, watching the security footage, as Bobby and Dean hovered over them.

"Anything interesting?" Dean asked as he looked all around the screen.

"I don't know yet. Might just be a guy..." Sam said as everyone watched the redheaded man approach the blonde woman, who killed an innocent lady earlier today.

"Or it might be our guy." Shia said mostly to herself but everyone heard. Shia didn't know why but she felt a disgusting feeling from the redheaded man, she didn't know what but she did figure that this was going to turn bad...like really bad.

Not wanting to wait until someone else gets murder, Dean, Shia and Bobby decided to stake out the local bar in Bobby's car.

"What time is it?" Bobby yawned as he shifted in his seat to get comfortable.

"Seven past midnight." Shia said with a bored tone as she checked her watch for the time.

"You sure this is the right place, Dean?" Bobby asked.

"No. But I spent all day canvassing this stupid town with this guy's stupid mug, and, supposedly, he drinks at this ... stupid bar." Dean sassed off. Instead of saying anything, Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Such a drama queen." Shia mumbled. Dean was about to say something but there was a loud pounding on the window; Bobby, Shia and Dean all jumped. It was Sam, who grinned at their discomfort and slipped into the back seat.

"That's not funny!" Dean said to his brother in a scolding tone.

"Yeah. Uh, all right, so – so, John Doe's name is Walter Rosen. He's from Oak Park, just west of Chicago. Went missing about a week ago." Sam said as he recited the information he learned today by visiting the library.

"The night the Devil's Gate opened?" Shia asked slowly trying to see the connection.

"Yeah." Sam simply said.

"So you think he's possessed?" Dean asked getting right to the point.

"Well, it's a good bet. So, what, he just walks up to someone,touches them, and they go stark raving psycho?"

"Those demons that got out at the gate – they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen." Bobby said.

"You mean the demons we _let_ out." Sam said with a huff.

"By we, you mean you, Dean, dad, Ellen, and Tanner, right? I was pretty sure I wasn't there, so there's no we in the mix." Shia said quickly before she pulled into the 'we' opened the gates of hell bit.

"Thanks, Shia, that made me feel much better." Sam mumbled as he slightly rolled his eyes.

"Guys." Dean said as he saw something. The redheaded man got out of his car and walked toward the bar. "All right. Showtime."

"Wait a minute." Bobby said before Dean got too excited. Bobby was smarter than to just walk in a bar with a demon inside, the whole bar be filled with much more.

"What?" Dean said impatiently.

"What'd I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him till we know for sure."

"Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?"

"I don't have a junk." Shia said out loud.

"Figure of speech, babe." Dean said.

"We're no good dead! And we're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is." Bobby stated sternly.

"Hey, Bobby? I don't think that's an option." Sam said as his gaze was elsewhere. Shia followed his gaze and immediately scoffed.

"Why not?" Bobby asked. Sam nodded, indicating another car that has just entered the lot: Isaac and Tamara were heading towards the bar. "Damn it!"

"Idiots." Shia said barely above a whisper. It was quiet only for after a minute of the couple being in the bar. Shia felt negative waves hit her stomach. "This is bad...this is really bad. Come on, we've got to help them."

Dean quickly got out the car with everyone following after, as soon as Dean got to the door, it was locked. "Damn it." Dean said angrily. Bobby and Dean slammed themselves against the door, trying to force the door open.

"Wait. I got an idea! The car, use the car to bust it open!" Shia told them. Dean and Bobby looked at each other and nodded. They got in the car.

"When we get in here I want you to stay in the car." Dean said as he got ready to kick some ass at any moment.

"What?! No! I'm going in!" Shia said to her boyfriend.

"Don't argue with me. I mean it. You need to stay back." Dean said to her sternly. Instead of uttering another word, Shia decided to sit still. With a screech of tires, Bobby's car bursted through the front door of the bar. Dean, Sam, and Bobby get out, armed with holy water, which they flunked violently into the crowd of demons. They back up and Sam grabbed Tamara, who is still screaming frantically for Isaac. Shia sat in the back and watched, he blood started to boil with rage, greed, guilt, pride, lust, and other emotions.

"I smell a demi god!" The lustful blonde screeched fearful, which didn't go unnoticed by Dean.

"Come on, we got to go! He's dead! Get in the car!" Sam said as he forcefully pushed Tamara in the back beside Shia. Sam saw Dean still immersed in the fight. "Dean, come on! DEAN! COME ON!"

Dean had entered combat with the redheaded man; he opened the trunk just as he ran out of holy water redheaded demon grinned. Dean overpowered him and stuffed him in the trunk, which is inscribed with a devil's trap. The demon screamed. Dean tumbled into the front seat of the car.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Dean screamed as Bobby pressed hard on the gas. They were quickly off to their next destination. Shia looked back to see the demons stare at the car.

Now in the home of Tamara and Isaac, the redheaded demon was tied up to a chair under a devil's trap on the ceiling; in the next room, an argument was ongoing.

"... And I say we're going back – now!" Tamara yelled out in anger and distress.

"Just hold on a second!" Sam told Tamara as he grab her arm.

"I left my husband bloody on the floor!"

"Okay, we all understand that, but we can't go back." Shia approached her in a calming way. Tamara scoffed at Shia, which was the rudest thing she could have done. But Shia decided to let it go considering the circumstance.

"Fine. Then you stay. But I'm heading back to that bar." Tamara said as she turned to walk out the front door.

"I'll go with her." Dean said as he followed Tamara.

"What the hell?!" Shia exclaimed at Dean with her arms crossed and heart beating extremely fast.

"It's suicide, Dean!" Sam told his big brother in a stern like tone.

"So what? I'm dead already!" Dean said, he then looked at Shia and froze, he felt bad that he let those words slip out his mouth in front of his brother and girlfriend. Shia softly scoffed at him and walked pass him to the upstairs bedrooms. Dean wanted to run after her but decided not to.

"How you gonna kill 'em? Can't shoot 'em. You can't stab 'em. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcized!" Sam yelled at both Dean and Tamara after Shia left the room.

"I don't care!" Tamara screamed as her tears were fighting to come out.

"We don't even know how many of them there are!"

"Yeah, we do. There's seven. Do you have any idea who we're up against?" Bobby said as he entered the room with a small book in his hands.

"No. Who?" Dean asked.

"The seven deadly sins, live and in the flesh!"

"'What's in the box?!'" Dean paused with a wide grin on his face. An awkward silence filled the air. "Brad Pitt? "Se7en"? No?" Bobby shook his head and tossed Dean an old looking book. "What's this?"

"'Binsfeld's Classification of Demons.' In 1589, Binsfeld ID'd the seven sins – not just as human vices but as actual devils." Bobby informed not just Dean but everyone in the room.

"The family – they were touched by Sloth. And the shopper..." Sam said slowly as he started to figure everything out.

"That's Envy's doing – the customer we got in the next room. I couldn't suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched with an awful Gluttony."

"I don't give a rat's ass if they're the Three Stooges or the Four Tops! I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!" Tamara said loudly to all the men in the room that listened to her. Bobby rolled his eyes for a second, he was annoyed and slightly ticked off.

"We already did it your way. You burst in there half-cocked and look what happened! These demons haven't been topside in half a millennium! We're talking medieval, Dark Ages! We've never faced anything close to this! So we are gonna take a breath..." Bobby shouted to the brokenhearted woman, he then calmed down when he saw the look in her eyes. "And figure out what our next move is!" Tamara and Bobby stared at each other for a long minute.

"I am sorry for your loss." Bobby said quietly to the grieving woman. Tamara emotionally walked out of the room. Dean and Sam looked at each other and then looked down.

"I think you should go check on Shia." Bobby said softly with crosses arms.

"I'll let her cool down." Dean said with a shrugged. "She's obviously pissed at me."

"You do know something about these sins and demi gods, do you?" Bobby asked Dean and Sam as he slowly sat down in a seat nearby.

"What about them?" Sam asked in a curious way.

"In Greek times the sins use to poison the people of the Greek land, the gods had to watch their people slowly fade away into sin. One of the gods were completely fed up with the sins and casted them to hell. It backfired oh him, though, the sins fear gods and demi gods but..."

"But what?" Dean asked.

"But the sins highly effects a demi god."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Have you noticed how mood Shia's been since being here? You have? Then okay. I'm just saying, don't leave her alone by herself for long. I'm going to go check on this piece of shit in the other room." Bobby said as he made his way into the other room with one of the sins inside.

"I'm, uh, I'm going to go check on Shia." Dean said after he cleared his throat. Dean didn't think Sam didn't notice him pick up a small object when he made his way upstairs, but Sam noticed and he couldn't believe what was about to happen.

"You've taken good care of her, yeah? Well, just kiss her for us. And mention how much we love her. Yes, everything's fine. Uh, I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight." Shia said into her cellular device, she throw the phone on the bed her and Dean shared. Dean cleared his throat to make his presence known, Shia glanced at him and then back at the floor. Silence fell between them, so quiet the if a pen drop you could hear the echo of the pen falling.

"I'm sorry." Dean said as he walked to sit beside Shia on the bed.

"No, I'm sorry. I think I'm getting some type of emotional roller coaster from the demons."

"There's a whole story about you and those freaks." Dean told Shia and she chuckled softly at him.

"Why do you always remind us you're going to hell?" Shia asked as she glanced from Dean to the floor.

"It's a new nervous tick, I guess." Dean said with a light chuckle. "Look, uh, we might die tonight."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Have you— have you ever considered being a Winchester?" Dean asked nervously to which Shia was confused.

"I thought John said I will always be a Winchester?" Shia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, legally."

"Dean, are you—?"

"Shia, I love you. And before I have to go to hell, I want to at least do one thing right," Dean said as he got on one knee and pulled a small, velvet box out of his pocket. Shia instantly allowed some tears to fall from have lovely dark, brown eyes. The ring was beautiful, it was a classic. A vintage beauty, at least that's what Shia would call it. "Will you marry me?"

"Dean— yes. Yes, I'll marry you." Shia said as she smiled at Dean, he slowly slipped the ring on her wedding finger as he hoped it fit perfectly and it did. Shia pulled Dean closer to her and kissed him multiple times.

"Our dysfunctional relationship is what keeps me going." Dean said with a light chuckle as he stared at the woman of his dreams.

"You're silly. I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

"We should get downstairs and see what our little demon friend knows." Shia said as she got up from the bed and straighten out her clothes. She gave Dean one more kiss before going out of the room with Dean to follow.

In the demon holding area, the room was quiet and everyone was still. Shia could see the sweat run down the demons face as she stared down at him. The demon, instead of gaining fear under Shia's stare, devices to shake the feeling of Shia off and chuckled.

"So you know who I am, huh?" The demon, Envy, asked with a chuckle.

"We do. We're not impressed." Shia said to Envy as she placed her hands on her hips. There was no response as Envy glared straight at her.

"Why are you here? What are you after?" Sam asked Envy. Again, no response.

"He asked you a question. What do you want?" Dean said in a demanding tone. Envy chuckled condescendingly. Dean opened a flask of holy water and splashed him.

"Ya! Ahh! Ugh ... We already have ... what we want." Envy said panting from the recent pain the holy water caused him.

"And what's that?" Bobby asked as he crossed his arms.

"We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am legion, for we are many." Envy said with a chuckle once again. "So me, I'm just celebrating. Having a little fun."

"The bastard is pretty confident." Shia mumbled to herself as she started to pace the space she had to herself.

"Fun?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Fun. See, some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides ... on their outside."

"I'm gonna put you down like a dog." Tamara said as she walled a little forward towards the demon.

"Please. You really think you're better than me. Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean? You're practically a, a walking billboard of gluttony and lust." Dean nodded, in acknowledgement. Shia raised an eyebrow at him and smirked a little. But, then Envy looked at her. "Shia...you're right up my alley. You're so envious of the people who live the normal, apple pie life. People who don't have to worry too much about things like me. Ah, and let's not forget the women Mr. Dean Winchester flirt with, I don't know why you envy those women, Dean practically lives for you. Oh, have you mentioned to him at all about what you were going to do with that abomination you call child when you found out you were pregnant? Never really thought he should know, huh? Interesting. And Tamara. All that wrath. Oohh. It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? It's so much easier to ... drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago." With her face twisted in anger, Tamara smacks him, hard, twice, until Dean and Bobby pulled her back. Shia only stood there and glared at Envy intensely with her eyes beginning to change, her powers were gaining control over her slowly. Envy had no idea how much she wants to kill him and make sure he never comes back, but instead Sam grabs her wrist in a way to tell her to calm down.

"Aah! Whew! My point exactly. And you call us sins. We're not sins, man. We are natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny... greedy... hungry... violent animals. And you know what? You'll be slaughtered like animals, too." Envy said as he midway yelled at each one of them. He paused and looked around. "The others – they're coming for me."

"Maybe. But they're not gonna find you... 'cause you'll be in hell." Dean said surely, Envy looked taken aback and Dean smirked but then his smirk quickly fell. "Someone send this clown packing."

"My pleasure." Tamara said with a dark grin, she began to read for the book. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica..." As she continued, the others leave as Envy screamed.

In the next room where the Winchesters, Bobby, and Shia moved to while Tamara finished the exorcism, Bobby decided to bring up the subject about the demons.

"I don't think we're gonna have to worry about hunting them." Bobby said with a soft sigh as he leaned against a wall nearest to him.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked as he slowly crosses his arms.

"I think maybe this joker's right. They're gonna be hunting us. And they're not gonna quit easy."

"Oh great, we're really gonna die tonight." Shia mumbled mostly to herself but it was for certain that everyone heard her.

"You guys, why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills? I'll stay back, slow them down, buy you a little time." Dean suggested with a shrug. Shia was shock he even let those words slip out his mouth, what about her soon to be "wedding" and what about Lynx? Did he forget about all of that within ten minutes?!

"You're insane, Dean. Just forget about it, okay?" Sam told his brother quickly.

"Couldn't agree with Sam more." Shia said as she placed a hand on each side of her hips. Bobby noticed to ring on her wedding finger and couldn't help but raise in eyebrow.

"Babe, but, listen—"

"Sam's right." Bobby said to Dean before he tried to justify himself as he spoke to Shia.

"There's _six_ of them, guys. We're outmanned, we're outgunned. We'll be dead by dawn." Dean told not only Bobby but everyone who was listening.

"Maybe, but ... there's no place to run that they won't find us."

"Look, if we're going down, we're going down together, all right?" Sam said softly.

"Damn straight." Shia mumbled.

"Well let's not make it easy for them." Dean said in almost a sarcastic way, but no one caught it. From the other room, Envy gave a final scream; the house shook and a dust blew out the candles. Tamara slammed the book shut and came into the other room.

"Demon's out of the guy." Tamara said coolly but some darkness was in her voice. Shia could sort of understand Tamara's state, the poor woman just lost the lobe of her life. Watching Tamara was like watching a preview of what she'll be like in a year when Dean's demon deal is up.

"And the guy?" Shia asked as she lifted one of her eyebrows.

"He didn't make it." Tamara replied coldly.

Later that night Dean was seated on the floor with a row of candles behind him, loading a shotgun. Shia was reciting an exorcism for the demons who were coming soon, she was ready to fight and use her powers. Sam was across the room filling flasks with holy water. He looks over at Dean, who was looking back at him, then Dean's eyes glances over at Shia where quickly their eyes met each other. For a small moment, Dean felt as if he was the luckiest man alive. They watched each other silently for a moment until the lights began to flicker. They looked around. An old radio sparked to life, playing the beginnings of a scratchy recording of "We Shall Not Be Moved".

"Here we go." Dean said as he cocked the shotgun and stood on his feet.

Outside, a demon in Isaac's body approached the house. Shia was standing beside Tamara in case she tried to do something reckless.

"Tamara! Tamara! Tamara! Tamara! Help me! Pleeeeeeease!" Demon Issac cried out as he slowly walked towards the house. Anguished, Tamara looked back at Bobby, and out the window again.

"Tamara! I got away, but I'm hurt bad! I need help!"

"It's not him. It's one of those demons. It's possessing his corpse." Bobby told Tamara so she knew that this Isaac is not hers that she once had. Isaac pounded on the door. Shia's eyes were starting to change, she was preparing herself for a fight.

"Baby! Why won't you let me in? You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore ... At that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other!" Demon Isaac said slowly, but Shia knew that he was saying to scare Tamara just to make her think that he actually survived that cruel death he endured.

"How did he know that?" Tamara sobbed as she turned to the men that stood behind her.

"Steady, Tamara. Steady, Tamara, steady, steady..." Shia said as she stared out the window, making sure that Tamara doesn't see her eyes and end up killing her mistaking that she was a demon.

"You just gonna leave me out here? You just gonna let me die?! I guess that's what you do, dear! Like that night those things came to our house... came ... for our daughter! You just let her die, too."

'Damn, he hit a nerve.' Shia thought.

"You son of a bitch!" Tamara screamed as she quickly passed Shia.

"Tamara, no!" Bobby yelled out. Tamara pushed the door open, breaking the salt line, and tackled Isaac down the steps. She landed on top of him and raised the Palo Santo stake.

"You're not Isaac!" Tamara said to him. She plunged the wood deep into his chest; it sizzled, and he screamed. The other six demons crossed the broken salt line and entered the house. One, an overweight balding guy, cornered Bobby, who backed up slowly. He stalked Bobby confidently, smiling, until he stops as if he's ran into an invisible wall. He looked around, confused. He was under another ceiling-devil's-trap. He looked at Bobby, pleading. Bobby smiled.

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son." Bobby said as he shook his head.

In another hallway, Dean was cornered by the waitress, Lust, they fight; she advanced on him.

Back in the kitchen Shia is cornered by Greed, a smile spread on it's face.

"Ah, a demi god. Interesting. I haven't seen on like you in years." Greed said as he walked toward Shia, for some odd reason he was making her extremely weak.

"Oh yeah, well, you'll die seeing a demi god one last time."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"I make you weak." Greed said confidently as he stepped closer to Shia. He then grabbed her by the neck and threw her across the kitchen.

"Yeah, you make me weak, but...there's something you don't know," Shia said as she slowly got up from her spot.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Greed grinned as he made his way over to Shia.

"I'm stronger than most." Shia whispered as her eyes went to her blue, white color. The demon stepped back as if he was scared. Shia smirked and with her powers flew the demon back like it was nothing. The demon quickly got up and ran towards her, he went for a punch but Shia countered it as she hit him in the face then below the belt. She then used her power to grab hold of the demon's black smoke that lied within the body of the poor human and started to chant the words of the exorcism. Greed screamed as he was getting sent back to hell. Once Shia was done, she began to feel weak. The pressure was too much for her so she passed out.

Meanwhile, Bobby began reading the exorcism for Sloth, the demon he had trapped.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica..." Bobby chanted, and Sloth screamed. Dean was backed into the bathroom.

"I suppose you're Lust." Dean said as he started to make conversation.

"Baby, I'm whatever you want me to be. You make me so hot." Lust said as she slowly yet seductively walked towards him.

"Yeah, all right, just stay back." Dean said as he was was trying hard to stay on point and not focus on the lust he had for the demon.

"Or what?"

"Good point."

"I'm not gonna hurt you – not yet. Not unless you want me to." Lust said as she finally made her way towards Dean. She ran a hand along his shoulder; he looked down at her, then fell into her embrace. They kissed passionately.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Shia woke up from the recent event of her passing out. She got to her feet and looked around. "Dean." She whispered to herself as she hurried to where she could find Dean.

Upstairs, a demon kicked a door in clear across the room. Sam looked around as the demon - a young man in a business suit - entered.

"Here's Johnny!" The demon joked as he walked towards Sam. Sam just shook his head and hoped his planned works. Well, it didn't.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Dean is backing up, still kissing lust, backing up until he hit a shower curtain. In one move he fliped them around, pulled open the shower curtain, and plunged her face-first into the bathtub. It was filled with holy water; she screamed in agony. After a couple of minutes, it was obvious that the demon was dead and then now young girl was unconscious. Dean turned around with a sigh but then he noticed Shia staring at him.

"How long have you been there?" Dean asked.

"Long enough to see your tongue down her throat." Shia smirked as she crossed and shook her head.

"She was lust, I felt like I had to."

"Uh huh. Sure." Shia said was a amusing nod.

"Babe, I'm serious."

"Let's just go find Sam." Shia said as she walked out the room but as soon as she walked out she bumped into Sam. "Sam, honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you see a girl?"

"A girl? No, but there was one with Dean." Shia said jokingly as Dean rolled his eyes and pulled Shia towards him and began to kiss her passionately holding her closely. It was now Sam's turn to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go find Bobby while you two do...that...making out." Sam said awkwardly as he passed by them and walked into another room.

The next morning, Sam and Dean piled the corpses of the demons that didn't survive into a shallow pit and begin pouring salt and fuel over them. Several yards away, Tamara and Shia was standing in front of a funderal pyre, Isaac's.

"I'm sorry about your husband. He was a good man." Shia said to her softly.

"Yeah, I know. How long have you and Dean been together?"

"Uh, two years, it'll be pushing three soon. Um, we have a daughter together."

"Sounds so much like how me and Isaac started out."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. He was a great man." Tamara said as she continued to stare at his prye.

"Think she's gonna be all right?" Sam asked Dean as he looked over to Shia and Tamara.

"No. Definitely not." Dean answered honestly as he continued to do what he was doing.

Bobby came out of the house, looking exhausted. Dean straightened up and looked at Bobby.

"Well, you look like hell warmed over."

"You try exorcising all night and see how you feel." Bobby said to Dean as he walked closer to the boys.

"Any survivors, Bobby?" Sam asked.

"Well, the pretty girl and the heavy guy, they'll make it. Lifetime of therapy bills ahead, but, still..."

"That's more than you can say for these poor bastards." Dean said pointing to the dead bodies that those demons possessed.

"Bobby, that knife – what kind of blade can kill a demon?" Sam asked trying to figure put that what he saw the blonde girl did last night was real.

"Yesterday, I would have said there was no such thing." Bobby said.

"I'm just gonna ask it again – who was that masked chick? Actually, the more troubling question would be, how come a girl can fight better than you?" Dean asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Three demons, Dean. At once. Besides, Shia is a better fighter than you."

"Hey, whatever it takes to get you through the night, pal." Dean said as he hit Sam on the shoulders.

"Yeah, well, if you want a troubling question, I got one for you."

"What's that?"

If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?" Sam asked. Dean paused for a moment and thought about it.

"You're right. That is troubling." Dean said. Dean lit a matchbook and tosses it onto the pyre. Later, the bonfires have settled down and they prepared to leave.

"See you gents around. You too, Shia." Tamara said as she began to walk back to her car.

"Tamara?" Bobby called out, she stopped to hear him. "The world just got a lot scarier. Be careful."

"You too." She said as she got in her car and took off.

"Keep your eyes peeled for omens. I'll do the same." Bobby said to the Winchesters and Shia.

"You got it, daddy." Shia said to Bobby. Bobby nodded with a smile and began to walk to his car.

"Wait, Bobby. We can win this war. Right?" Sam asked hopefully.

After a pause, not answering the question, during which they all look uncomfortable and worried Bobby said, "Catch you on the next one."

"So, where to?" Dean asked as he placed his hand on Shia's waist and pulling her close to him.

"Uh, I don't know. I was thinking Louisiana maybe." Sam said.

"Little early for Mardi Gras, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Listen, I was talking to Tamara, and she mentioned this hoodoo priestess outside of Shreveport that might be able to help us out. You know, with your – with your demon deal." Shia looked up at Sam and then back at Dean with pure hope in her eyes.

"Nah." Dean simply said.

"'Nah?' What the hell does that mean, 'nah?'" Shia asked as she backed away from Dean, she was getting irritated with him.

"Guys, no hoodoo spell's gonna break this deal, all right? It's a goose chase."

"Yeah, but we don't know that, Dean—" Shia said to her stubborn fiancée.

"Yes, we do. Forget it. She can't help." Dean said cutting her off.

"Look, it's worth—" Sam said trying to cut in.

"We're not going, and that's that. What about Reno, huh?" Dean said speaking over his brother. Dean smacked Sam on the arm lightly and turned to walk away. Sam grabbed his sleeve and turned Dean back to face him.

"You know what? I've had it. I've been bending over backwards trying to be nice to you, and," Sam said with a shrug. "I don't care anymore."

"That didn't last long." Dean mumbled.

"Yeah, well, you know what? I've been busting my ass trying to keep you alive, Dean, and you act like you couldn't care less. What, you got some kind of death wish or something?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Then what's it like, Dean?" Shia asked.

"Guys—"

"Please, tell us."

"We trap the crossroads demon, trick it, try to welch our way out of the deal in any way? You die. Okay? Sam dies. Those are the terms. There's no way out of it. If you try to find a way, so help me god, _I'm_ gonna stop you. Both of you."

"How could you make that deal, Dean?" Sam said with a sigh.

"'Cause I couldn't live with you dead. Couldn't do it."

"So, what, now Sam lives and you die?" Shia asked as she crosses her arms.

"That's the general idea, yeah." Dean said with a shrug.

"Yeah, well, you're a hypocrite, Dean. How did you feel when Dad sold his soul for you? 'Cause I was there. I remember. You were twisted, and broken. And now you go and do the same thing to me. You'll have leave your daughter and Shia. What you did was selfish." Sam said with emotion, he was so angry at Dean for making a demon deal but he really couldn't blame him for doing it.

"Yeah, you're right. It was selfish. But I'm okay with that."

"We're not."

"Tough. After everything I've done for this family, I think I'm entitled. Truth is, I'm tired, Sam. I don't know, it's like there's a, a light at the end of the tunnel." Dean said to his brother. Shia was done hearing his crap and decided to sit in the backseat and waited for the conversation to be over.

"It's hellfire, Dean." Sam said.

"Whatever. You're alive, I feel good – for the first time in a long time. I got a year to live, Sam. I'd like to make the most of it. So what do you say we kill some evil sons of bitches and we raise a little hell, huh?" Dean said as he smiled and nodded to Sam and walked on to the car.

"You're unbelievable." Sam said to his brother.

"Very true." Dean said with as smile. Dean opened the driver side door and rock music started to play. He started the car as Sam walked, frustratedly, to the passenger side and got in.

"I hope you two a done with you're talk. I want to go get my daughter." Shia said as she leaned up the the seat in front of her. Dean smirked at the thought of his kid.

"Well, let's go get her." Dean said as he drove off quickly.


	33. Chapter 33: The Kids Are Alright (3x02)

Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more. -Kansas  
_

The Kids Are Alright (3x02)

~A week after The Magnificent Seven.~

"I can't believe she's two weeks old now. She's grown so much." Dean said as he stared down at his baby girl, Lynx, who laid in her crib asleep.

"Dean, she's only gain...what...three ounces since she was born. She hasn't gotten that big." Shia said amusingly with an eyebrow raised.

"She's grown a lot to me." Dean said as he reached down to touch Lynx's finger, she quickly grabbed his finger and held on to it. "We make beautiful children, Shia. We should settle down and make some more." Shia stared at Dean and smiled, he was actually considering to quit the hunting gig and have a normal life. That was a nice thought, yes, but what about what will happen in eleven months? The death of Dean Winchester is what will happen. Shia didn't want to think about but it hung in the back of her mind. She's trying really not to be mad at Dean but it's hard. What he did was selfish, and reckless. And it killed Shia to think her baby will grow up with out a father.

"Babe, you still livin'?" Dean asked as he watched his fiancée stare into space.

"Uh, yeah, I was just thinking about something." Shia said softly as she glanced at her baby open her mouth as she slept. 'She even sleeps like her father.' Shia thought with a quiet giggle she let out.

"Okay, really, what are you thinking about?" Dean asked with an almost annoyed tone.

"Look at the way she's sleeping, look familiar?"

"Well, I'll be damned. She's so much like Sam." Dean chuckled. Shia shook her head.

"No, you idiot. You sleep like that, but I guess Sam does too. It must be a Winchester thing." Shia mumbled as she crossed her arms and walked over to the rocking chair.

"Dad would have loved her." Dean said as he thought about John Winchester.

"How do you know that? He could be calling us idiots for even having her."

'Take care of the baby, Dean.'

"No, he would have loved her."

"You really think so?"

"No, I know so."

Shia smiled at Dean when he said those words as he looked down at his child, the love he had for Lynx was an unbreakable love. Dean would do anything and everything for her, just to know she's safe. "So, what's the deal? What's going on? We leave in the morning?" Shia asked as she stood to walk over to Dean.

"No, I think we should stay another week or so." Dean said as she motioned for him and Shia to leave the room.

"Do you know where we'll be going next?" Shia said as she made her way to the room her and Dean shared.

"I don't know, baby. I'm sure Sam is thinking of a million places to go." Dean said as he sat down on the bed and laid back.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Shia said as she quickly changed to shorts and a tank top, she was getting ready for bed.

~Two Weeks Later~

Sam and Shia was sitting at a table in a generic diner while Lynx laid in her car seat, she's a month old now and she's gotten a little longer and a tad bit bigger. Sam was working on his laptop and talking on his phone. Dean was nowhere to be seen. Sam looked a bit frantic.

"You look like a guilty dog, Sam." Shia mumbled as she looked around for Dean.

"What do you mean you don't think it will work, Bobby? It's a demon-dispelling ritual. Well, maybe we got the translation wrong. Look, we can't just let Dean fry in hell while we— ... Well, there's got to be something that w—. Oh, ah, yeah, no, ah, I I gotta go. Uh. Okay. Never mind." Sam said as he hung up the phone quickly. Shia looked down and grinned to herself.

"How's Lynx?" Shia asked Sam and her looked down at her next to him.

"She's fine, she's asleep."

"Okay." Shia said with a nod. Dean entered the diner, looking suspiciously at Sam and Shia, but mostly Sam.

"Hey. Who was that?" Dean asked.

"Ah, I was just ordering pizza." Sam said quickly. Shia raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head. 'We're in a diner, Sam.' Shia thought.

"Dude, you do realize that you're in a restaurant?" Dean said as he looked around at his surroundings.

"Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I ... just felt like pizza, you know?" Sam lied not so smoothly. Shia chuckled quietly at Sam and he gave her a look. Sam smiled at Dean, tight-lipped and reeking of insincerity.

"O-kay, Weirdy Mcweirderton." Dean said as he sat down beside Shia and placing an arm around her. After a moment Dean cleared his throat. "So, I think I got something."

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"Cicero, Indiana. Falls on his own power saw." Dean said. Sam and Shia knew that what he was saying wasn't enough information for a case, so something else was going on.

"And? What, that's it? One power saw?" Shia said as she crossed her arms.

"Well... yeah." Dean said nonchalantly.  
"And you think that this is a case?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I don't know. Could be."

"I don't know, Dean. I – I –"

"All right, there's something better ... better in Cicero than just a case." Dean said mostly to Sam.

"And that is?" Shia asked as she took a sip from her drink and folded her arms again.

"Lisa Braeden." Dean said to both Shia and Sam. Sam looked at Shia to see her reaction while Shia was confused.

"Lisa? Who the fuck's Lisa?" Shia asked as she was trying to wrap her head around the whole situation.

"Remember that road trip I took, uh... gosh, about eight years ago now? Sam, you were in Orlando with Dad wrapping up that banshee thing. And babe, you were with Bobby finishing up on some ghost." Dean said to try to refresh everyone's memory. Shia then knew what he was talking about and she dreaded him ever bringing it up.

"Yeah. Yeah, the five states, five-day –" Sam said as he started to remember everything.

"Yeah. Well, kind of." Dean said with a light chuckle. "Although I spent most of my time in Lisa Braeden's loft. Man, she was—" Dean continued to say but took one look at Shia's face. "I should shut up, huh?"

"Yeah, you should." Shia advised as she looked out the diner window.

"So let me get this straight. You want – you want to drive all the way to Cicero just to hook up with some random chick?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, he's not hooking up with anyone. Not if he wants a fiancée." Shia mumbled loud enough for both brothers to hear. Sam grinned as he watched the scene that was playing out in front of him.

"She's not just some random chick, alright? She's an old friend." Dean corrected Sam as he took a swig from his beer.

"Yeah, well, how come you didn't mention her before?" Shia asked as she gave Dean a look he hasn't seen in a while...not since he told her about Cassie.

"It wasn't important. Besides, she happened before you. Come on, let's hit the road." Dean said as he got up first, he then noticed Lynx in her car seat. "Wait, shouldn't we drop Lynx off or something?"

"Oh no. She's coming with us. I need a distraction while you flirt or whatever with Lauren." Shia said after Sam got up and she reached for Lynx's car seat.

"Lisa. Remember, babe? Lisa."

"Whatever." Shia huffed as she walled out of the diner with a baby bag strapped on one arm and Lynx in the other. Sam and Dean watched her leave, Sam couldn't help but grin at his brother.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Dude, this isn't gonna end well. And also, I never noticed how she's got you on a leash." Sam grinned as he followed Shia to the impala.

"She doesn't have me on a leash." Dean said to himself after leaving a tip and walking out the diner.

It was a little before noon when the Winchesters, baby Winchester, and Shia got to the motel. They were getting settle in before doing anything else.

"Hey, Sam, you mind watching Lynx for us?" Dean asked as he placed Lynx in her portable crib as she wiggled around in his arms.

"Uh, yeah. Where are guys going?" Sam asked as he looked up from his laptop.

"I don't know. I just want to take the whole Lisa thing off Shia's mind for a little bit."

"Good luck with that." Sam said just as Shia made her way out of the bathroom. Dean turned around and smiled at her but Shia looked at him with a confused expression.

"What? What's going on?" Shia asked as she looked around.

"Get your jacket, babe, we're going out." Dean said with a smile.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Lynx's a month old now, shouldn't we get her something?"

"Dean, she gets things in the mail from her uncles almost everyday. She doesn't really need anything. Did we run out diapers?" Shia asked as she walked over to her baby bag and checked.

"I think we're running low. Come on."

"Okay. Okay. Sam, you're okay with this?" Shia asked as she reaches for her jacket on the coat rack. Sam nodded at her with a smile.

At the store it was wasn't tense, no arguments, it was just two parents buying diapers for their kid. Shia got what she needed and Dean just followed behind her. But then his eyes were locked on the cutest outfit he's ever laid eyes on. It was a purple dress with small ruffles on it and cute wordings that said 'Superman isn't real but my Daddy is.'

"Babe, look at this." Dean said as he pulled Shia towards the dress, she read it with a smile but then saw the fitting age.

"Dean, she's not big enough for this."

"What? Well, get it, so when's she's big enough...she'll fit it."

"Yeah, okay." Shia said as she grabbed the outfit and carefully placed it in her buggy. Just then a woman with dark hair, nice figure, and tan skin passed the isle. She did a double take before she looked at Dean again.

"Dean?" The woman shyly asked to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Shia looked up when she heard Dean's name being called.

"Lisa?" Dean asked as he chuckled and walked over to give her a hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just passing through."

"I see, you're shopping with a...a...friend." Lisa said as she took one look from Shia and back Dean. Instead of watching Dean flirt non stop with Lisa, Shia decided to go check out.

"$30? I didn't even buy much." Shia mumbled as she handled the cashier the money and grabbed her bag which was nothing but a pack of diapers and Lynx's new little outfit. Dean walked over to Shia after talking with Lisa quickly.

"Babe, you want to go to a birthday party?" Dean asked as he showed her an invitation.

"What? Is it Lisa's birthday?" Shia said bitterly as she continued to walk out the store and towards the impala.

"Hey, what's gotten in to you?"

"Nothing. I just—I just want to go and be with Lynx, that's all."

"I told Lisa we'd come." Dean said as he unlocked the trunk and placed the bag he took from Shia's hand inside the trunk, he closed it shortly after.

"Well, you lied. You're going to go. Me? I'll be at the motel with OUR daughter."

"Okay, what's going on with you? I'm being serious. Are you jealous?" Dean asked with a stern look and Shia scoffed. "Don't you think we're a little passed the whole 'jealous' phase? I mean, come on, I plan on marrying you soon. We have a KID together." Shia only stood in silence. Instead of answering she decided to just walk to the passenger side of the impala, once she opened the door Dean got behind her a closed it. "Shia, talk to me."

"Why did you want to visit her in the first place, huh? I mean, if you're really happy with me, you wouldn't even think about other women." Shia said as she looked Dean in the eye. Dean couldn't say a word. He is happy with Shia, and there's no doubt about that but he also wanted to take a trip down memory lane before going to hell. "You know what? You go to that stupid party. I hope you find all your answers. Look, just— just take me back to the motel."

The ride was quiet, Dean didn't breath a word to Shia and she did the same to him. They weren't made at each other but there was definitely some tension between them. Doing as he was told, Dean dropped Shia off at the motel and drove off the party Lisa invited him to. Shia watched as he drove off, shaking her head and scoffing at her dumb boyfri— fiancé. Shia turned to walk towards the door as she was going to open the door, Sam opens it instead with the baby car seat, where Lynx laid wide awake, in one hand while he had his laptop bag and baby bag strapped on one shoulder. Shia grinned at the giant man and Sam glared at her, he knew why she was grinning.

"You look like Mr. Mom." Shia said with a quiet giggle. Sam rolled his eyes and then looked around confused.

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked as he walked back into the motel room to set Lynx down, he knew that something happened and he didn't want Lynx outside the whole time the were talking.

"Well," Shia said with a sigh. "We, well, Dean was talking to that Lisa girl at the store."

"And how did she know you two were there?" Sam asked almost getting worried that Lisa could be a demon or something.

"Relax, she wasn't stalking us. She happened to see us in the isle where we were shopping for Lynx. Ah, damn it!"

"What?!"

"I left the diapers in the trunk of the car." Shia said with a frustrated sigh. "Please tell me we have enough diapers to hold off before Dean gets back?"

"We should. Listen, I was going to go to a diner close by to do some research on how to get Dean out of his deal. I know there's a small gas station near by, I can see if they have something like that. If not, I'll look somewhere else. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. You go on. I'll stay here with Lynx." Shia said. Sam nodded and grabbed his laptop bag and headed out the door. Once alone, Shia took off her shoes and fell back on the bed trying to get comfortable and then...the cries of a baby filled the room. "Oh, Lynx, mommy did not forget you were there. Come on, baby Winchester." Shia picked up her small child and rocked her in her arms, she then walked to the mini fridge and hoped that Sam made a bottle before leaving and he did, he made two actually.

"Thank God for Sam Winchester." Shia whispered to herself as she grabbed the bottle and places it the microwave oven to warm it up a little.

"Precious child, she is." A feminine voice said across the room, but Shia recognized it as Athena. Lynx didn't recognized the voice and started to cry a little. Shia started to bounce her to calm her down.

"Mother, what the hell are you doing here?" Shia said as she reached to the microwave to grab Lynx's baby bottle.

"Watch your tongue around the baby." Athena said as she walked closer to her grandchild. "Never did I think I'll have a semi god grandchild."

"Don't ALL of your children end up having kids?" Shia asked sitting down on the bed and began to feed Lynx.

"Yes, but she's different."

"What makes her different?" Shia asked as she gazed down to her beautiful daughter who was drinking up her bottle like a pro. 'You really are your father's child.' Shia thought.

"Because her mother isn't all the way half human." Athena said almost so quickly where Shia couldn't catch what she was saying but Shia's head snapped up so quickly and turned to her mother.

"What are you talking about? I am half human, at least...that's what you've told me." Shia said as she placed Lynx on her shoulder and started to pat on her back to burp her.

"Have you ever thought about your father?"

"Bobby?"

"No. You're real father?" Athena asked.

"Well, I mean, it has slipped my mind once or twice."

"Well, he came from a family of witches, making him a warlock. Also making you a little bit more powerful than the average demi god."

"And you couldn't have told me this when we first met?" Shia asked in a irritated, yet sarcastic way.

"I did not want to 'freak' you out."

"Like you didn't freak me out before." Shia mumbled, she smiled quickly as she heard a small burp escape Lynx's tiny mouth. Athena stayed quiet for a moment and then looked back at Shia.

"I must leave. I will speak with you soon." Athena said as she got in position to leave but Shia stopped her.

"What's my real father's name? I don't want to search for him. I just want his name."

"Ronald Greggy." Athena said before disappearing.

"Wow, sucky name." Shia grinned to herself as she placed her baby in the portable crib they have set up for her. Moments later her ringtone of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' by Britney Spears started to play out loud, Shia knew it was Dean because that's the ringtone she set for him...and he's admitted that he kind of likes it. "What's up, Dean?"

"Babe, I'm on my way to the motel. Look, there's a case here." Dean said.

"Hm." Shia said unconvincingly as she placed one hand on her hip.

"You don't believe me?"

"Are you sure you're not just saying there's a case so you can stay with Lisa?"

"Shia, we don't have time for this. Okay? You either believe me or you don't. I'll be at the motel soon. Bye." Dean said as he hung up quickly. They were both upset with each other so there was no 'win-win' solution.

Sam came through the door with some food and a small pack of diapers, he noticed Shia sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. 'Well, that never means anything good.' Sam thought.

"You alright?" Sam asked as he sat beside her and placed his hand on her back. Shia looked at him and nodded with a small smile.

"Thanks for checking on me, Samwise, but yeah... I'm good." Shia said as she got up and went to the bathroom. Moments later, Dean walked through the motel door with the bag that they bought earlier, he placed it next to the food Sam got for them. Dean went straight to the crib where he saw little Lynx moving around, but staring at her fingers. Dean smiled at his small, little girl as he witnessed her trying to figure out her body parts. Dean looked up and then looked around the room.

"Where's Shia?" Dean asked Sam confusingly.

"She's in the bathroom. So, uh, I decided that we should check out that family who lost a member recently tomorrow. I'm taking Shia with me. So, that means, if you're going somewhere...you have to take Lynx with you." Sam said with a smug smile as he went back typing on his laptop. Shia came out the restroom with her hair tied up, tank top, and shorts on. She didn't acknowledge Dean at all, she went towards her daughters crib and picked her up.

"What do you think is happening in this town, Dean?" Shia asked as she laid Lynx down on the bed and reached for her night pajama outfit to change her in.

"I don't know. Uh, babe, aren't you going to change her diaper too?"

"I changed it two minutes before Sam came back, and then about five minutes later...you came back...so no. I'm not changing her diaper until she actually does something." Shia said as she button the last button on Lynx's out fit. Dean smiled at what the pretty pajama said. 'I can rest well because I know my mommy, daddy, grandpas, grandmas, aunts, and uncles love me.' Shia couldn't help but smile too, Julius gave her the pajama after he had one of his old flings customize it for him.

Dean and Shia slept close together, she cuddled to Dean and he had his arms wrapped around them. Lynx would cry in the middle of the night and Dean would get up to nurse her, he would bounce Lynx around the room while she would whimper.

'Hey, Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song, and make it better...' Dean would catch himself sing the song his mother sung to him when he was a baby. Dean cradled the baby in his arms and watch her stare up at him as he would sing, but then soon she would fall asleep slowly but surly.

In the suburban neighborhood, Sam and Shia are dressed in a dark, business suits and are posing as insurance agents and speaking to another young mother who have been victimized by a freak accident.

"So, once again, I'm very sorry to disturb you. We just really want to expedite that life-insurance policy." Sam said after he cleared his throat, Shia looked around their surroundings, she didn't feel nothing evil near her. 'Maybe I'm missing something.' Shia thought to herself.

"Of course." The mother said quietly and shyly.

"Okay." Sam said. The mother took Shia and Sam around back, where a ladder leaned against the wall.

"This is, um, where he fell." The young woman said as her eyes filled up with tears as she relived the terrible moment in her life, coming home to find your husband dead.

"I see. Now, how exactly did he –" Shia tired asking but her sentence was cut short.

"He was just inside changing a light bulb. Must have lost his balance."

"Were you here when this happened?" Sam asked trying to rule out the vengeful spirit deal.

"No. I was out. Uh, the only one here was our daughter, Dakota."

Inside, a creepy little girl was looking out at them, something dark red was smudged on the window and railing. Shia took one look at the girl and knew for a fact something was wrong, that thing she was looking at was not a child...well..it is...but it isn't.

"Okay." Shia said with a pause, while she looked around, from the daughter to the red smear. "Well, uh, I think that's all we need."

"Okay." The mother nodded at the both of them.

"We'll get out of your way now." Sam said.

"Thank you." The mother said as she turned and went up the steps with Sam and Shia behind her. They both see a strange injury on the back of her neck, it's an oval, with multiple dots around it, like the mark from a sucker or teeth. The mother was now in the house, and the pair of 'insurance agents' walked back to the rented out car they had.

"There's something wrong with the kid." Sam said as he opened the driver door and got in, Shia got in the passenger seat and agreed with Sam.

"Yeah, I know. I was getting bad vibes from that little thing." Shia said as she buckled her seat belt.

"Well, let's get back and do some research."

Dean was walking back to his car while Lynx was in her 0-3 month old stroller Michael bought for her three days after she was born, he noticed Ben sitting sadly on a park bench.

"Well, Lynx, how about we go over and talk to the kid?" Dean asked, when he looked down at her she just stared at him. "I'll talk that as a yes." Dean then walked over to the bench and talked to the Ben kid.

"Hey, Ben." Dean said as he pulled a little tent setter over Lynx to make sure she didn't get too hot.

"Hey. You were at my party." Ben said knowingly, he then noticed the stroller in front of him. "Who's kid?"

"Uh, she's mine. Uh, I'm Dean." Dean said as he sat down next to Ben but made sure Lynx was diagonal of him so he could keep a good eye on her. "Everything okay? Something wrong?" Dean noticed that Ben was holding an empty case. He looked out at the field and saw a group of four boys playing with a Gameboy-type thing. "Is that your game they're playing with?"

"Ryan Humphrey borrowed it, and now he won't give it back." Ben said sadly as he looked down at his feet.

"Well, you want me to go—"

"No! Don't go over there! Only bitches send a grown-up." Ben said quickly as he look ahead at the boys playing with his favorite item.

"You're not wrong." Dean agreed with a small smirk. 'Is Lisa sure this kid isn't mine? Oh God, what if he is? Shia would kill me.' Dean thought as he looked from Ben to Lynx, who was fast asleep, he then just let go of the thought all together.

"And I am not a bitch." Ben mumbled surly.

"Is that Humphrey? The one that needs to lay off the burgers?" Dean said as pointed at an overweight child. Ben nodded, smiling slightly.  
"Hm."

"What are you thinking?" Ben asked.

"Go over there and stand up for yourself." Dean advised as he continued to check on Lynx every two minutes. Ben walked across the park to the group of boys. They were all bigger than him. Ben cleared his throat loudly and looked back at Dean, who was holding his baby close to him as she slept, he gave Ben a thumb's up. Ben cleared his throat again.

"Ryan." Ben said and the overweight child looked up at him. "I'd like my game back, please."

"Fine. Take it back." Ryan said threateningly. The other boys laughed Ben looked nervously at the other kids, sighing, then turns as if to leave.

"See? Told you guys he was a—" Ryan was cut off as Ben turned back suddenly and kicked Ryan hard between the legs. Ryan crumples to the ground, and Ben takes the game back. Dean looked around, smirking. He runs back to the bench and a grinning Dean.

"Thanks. Dude, that was awesome!" Ben said to Dean, and Dean nodded proudly at the little kid for standing up for himself. Dean then placed Lynx back in her stroller and gave Ben a small high five.

"Benjamin. Isaac. Braeden! What's gotten into you?" Lisa said as she walked over to the man and little boy. She only saw the part where Ben hit the kid, she didn't see when those boys where bullying her son.

"He stole my game." Ben tried to explain to his annoyed mother.

"So you kick him? Since when is—" Lisa started to but looked at Dean, who was still grinning. "Did you tell my son to beat up that kid?"

"What? Somebody had to teach him how to kick the bully in the nads." Dean said.

"Who asked you to teach him anything?" Lisa smarted off, she then looked down and saw the sleeping baby so she tried to came herself down and tried not to be as loud for that baby's sake.

"Just relax." Dean told her. He didn't see the big deal and also he need her a little quiet so she wouldn't wake Lynx, because that baby is cranky when she's waken up.

"What are you even still doing here? We had one weekend together a million years ago. You don't know me. And you have no business with my son." Lisa said almost a little quieter then she would have if she didn't notice the small baby, she then stalked over to Ben and grabbed him to walk off with him.

"Lisa." Dean said as he got up and walked behind Lynx's stroller and pushed her to his pace so he could follow behind Lisa to apologize to her.  
"Just leave us alone." Lisa said irritatedly, she and Ben began to walk a faster pace but Ben pulled out of her grip and ran back to give Dean an impulsive hug. "Ben!"

"Thanks." Ben said as he hugged Dean. He ran back to Lisa and they leave. Dean watches them speculatively, until he noticed three children with creepy stares watching them leave as well.

"There's something definitely going on, Lynx." Dean said to his daughter, she moved around in her sleep a little and he knew what was coming next. "Oh no." Lynx started off with a soft whimper but then, she started crying loudly. "Let's go for a ride in the impala, huh?"

Sam was on his computer, doing research. Shia was making baby bottles, because if she knew her daughter...Dean ran out of breast milk to give her. Not moments later Dean entered the room with Lynx's car seat carrier in one hand and her baby bag in the other.

"Something's wrong with the kids in this town." Dean said as he carefully placed baby Lynx on the bed he and Shia shared. "She needs a diaper change." Shia walked over and grabbed Lynx to carry her in the bathroom to get her changed.

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Sam said as he was looking at a website on "CHANGELING LORE." "So, what do you know about changelings?"

"Evil monster babies?" Dean asked as he recalled John telling him about it when he was younger.

"No, not necessarily babies." Sam corrected him.

"They're kids. Creepy, "stare at you like you're lunch" kids?" Dean said as he came to realization.

"Yeah. There's one at every victim's house." Sam told him.

"That creepy little kid gave me the creeps when we were at that lady's house." Shia said as she carried an awake Lynx in her arms. "She's all clean and good." Shia walked over to a bottle she just made for her.

"Babe, let me feed her." Dean said, Shia didn't argue with him, so she grabbed the bottle and handed it to Dean along with their child. Dean fed her with a smile and burped her afterwards. Shia couldn't help but watch them in awe, Dean spent all day with her and, yet, he still wants to feed her and burp her.

Later on that night, Sam was seated on the bed while Shia bounced around a fussy Lynx, as Dean prepared a kerosene torch.

"So, changelings can perfectly mimic children. According to lore, they climb in the window, snatch the kid. Y'know, there were marks on the windowsill at one of the kid's houses. Looked like blood." Sam said as he watched Dean prepare the torches.

"The changeling grabs a kid, assumes its form, joins the happy fam just for kicks? Yeah, that's not creepy at all." Dean said.

"Not quite. Changelings feed on the mom: synovial fluid. The moms have these odd bruises on the back of their necks. Changelings can drain them for a few weeks before mom finally croaks." Shia said as she thought about what Bobby told her when she was a little younger.

"And then there's dad and the babysitter."

"Yeah. Seems like anyone who gets between the changeling and its food source ends up dead." Sam said.

"And fire's the only way to waste them?" Dean asked Shia and Sam. They both nodded.

"Great. We'll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn. That will play great with the neighbors. What about the real ones? What happens to them?" Dean asked. Shia noticed how Dean went from worried to extremely worried.

"According to lore, they stash them underground somewhere. I don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids might be out there." Shia told him as she laid Lynx in her crib.

"We better start looking." Dean said, there was a pause. "So, any kid in the neighborhood is vulnerable?"

"Uh, yeah."

"We gotta make a stop. I want to check on someone." Dean said as he started packing everything up.

"Well Dean, if the real kids are still alive, we don't have time. We—" Sam started to say.

"We have to." Dean said as he walked towards the door.

"Wait. Hold on. Who's going to watch Lynx?" Shia said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. We need you on this." Sam said.

"Hold on. Julius. Julius, I need you. Come on, buddy." Shia called out, she knew that Julius heard her. Moments later, a light skinned boy with brown hair and a nice suit on appeared in the room. "Why are you all dressed up?"

"Believe it or not, little sister. I had a hot date with a model." Julius said with a grin, but then he looked around and got straight to the point. "What do you need?"

"I need you to stay here with Lynx while I help them on a hunt."

"Oh right. Well, I'd have to go back and get changed for 'best uncle in the world' time with Lynx. I'll be back in 20 minutes." Julius said as he orbed away.

"Wait! Damn it. Guys, why don't you go? I'll catch up." Shia said.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Positive. Go."

Dean went to Lisa's house and tried to warn her about what was going on, but being that she's stubborn and annoyed, she chose to tell Dean to leave. Dean still searched around the house and found some red substance and then figured out where the children could be. There was a large mound of dirt outside the semi-finished home, with a "Cicero Realty For Sale" sign. Sam picked some up and inspected it on his fingers.

"Red dirt. That's what was on the window." Sam said with a shake of his head, he was ashamed that he didn't think of it sooner. Moments after, Shia orbed at the unfinished suburban neighborhood.

"Hope I didn't miss the action." Shia said as she walked over to the boys.

"Ah, Sam, you take the front. I'll go around. Shia, you're with me." Dean instructed.

"Okay." Sam and Shia said in unison.

Inside, Dean, Shia and Sam wandered about with flashlights. Dean and Shia heard a noise in the basement and went to inspect it, finding a series of cages, each containing abducted kids. Dean saw Ben and quickly walked over to him.

"Ben... Ben... it's okay. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" Dean promised the little boy, Ben was scared but then he noticed Shia and smiled a little.

"Who's the hot chick?" Ben said sending Shia a "Hey, I dig you" look, she knew that face from somewhere but...No. 'Is he Dean's kid?' Shia thought.

"Hey, eyes off the woman." Dean said to Ben as he tried to find a way to get him out.

Above the basement where Sam was located, suddenly, the Cicero Real Estate lady entered the building and seen Sam.

"What do you think you're doing?" She said, Sam was about to make up a lie until he saw her monster-like reflection in a pane of glass. "This is private property. I'm calling the police."

In the basement Dean and Shia was moving around the cages. They found the real version of the Real Estate Woman in a cage.

"Holy shit." Shia mumbled, she knew this could not mean anything good.

"You heard me! Get out!" The monster said as she advanced slowly towards Sam.

"Ah, I could — just let me get my bag. I'm going. I, I don't mean to cause any trouble." Sam said as he reached for his bag. Sam reached for his bag and pulled out a flame-thrower which he aimed at her, there was a whooshing noise and she had apparently disappeared. Sam looked around. 'Great.' He thought.

Dean was opening Ben's cage, while Shia was trying to get some other cages open. She wanted to use her powers so badly, but she didn't want to scare the kids. Dean pulled Ben out of the cage and hugged him.

"Come on. Let's go." Dean said as he set Ben down and ruffled his hair. Shia got open a cage with a couple of girls in it, she noticed the scene between Ben and Dean, she couldn't help bit wonder if that precious little boy belong to Dean. "All right, come on."

Dean helped Shia break open cages and Ben help children out.

"It's okay. You're gonna get out of here, all right? Hurry!" Ben told them. Shia helped the children and couldn't help but smirk. 'Natural born leader, that kid.'

"Come on, girls! Come on! Keep moving, keep moving.  
Okay, everybody back! Everybody back!" Dean said as he cleared off a windowsill and prepared to smash the glass. Shia and Ben helped to usher the other kids away.

"Cover your eyes!" Ben instructed the children. Dean breaked the window with a plank of wood, and began to brush the glass off.

"Here. Use this." Ben said as he took off his jacket.

"All right. All right, Ben. Come on. Come on." Dean said.

"Him first." Ben said as he pulled another kid in front of him. Shia

"Hey! Dean! Shia! There's a mother." Sam said as he ran in.

"I knew it." Shia said as she got ready to use her powers if the monster came near the children. They kids noticed her eyes change to her blue, with color but didn't think she was evil. They looked at her with awe.

"A mother changeling?" Dean asked with confusion.

"Yeah. We got to get these kids out quick. Shia, by ready." Sam said, Shia nodded quickly.

"Right there, right there. There's one more. You got to break the lock!"

"I guess that's why the changelings are keeping the kids alive – so the mom can snack on them." Shia said as she looked around while Dean and Sam both set the children free.

"There. Come on, I gotcha." Sam said as he freed the real sales woman. She screamed as she saw the mother changeling behind her. Dean went flying and landed on his back, groaning in pain. The Changeling Mom turned around. Sam had the flamethrower and a lighter. She kicked the lighter out of his hand, then roundhouse kicks him again, then threw a few punches and generally kicked his ass, before throwing him across the room. DEAN has gotten to his feet, but she punched him again.

"Ben, get them out of here!" Dean told the young boy who was watching the fight and wished that he could do something. The monster then turned to Shia and smirked.

"Demi gods taste sweeter than children."

"You want a piece of me," Shia asked, the monster nodded. "I'll give you the whole damn pie." The monster came to strike at Shia but she countered it and strongly kicked the monster in it stomach sending it back against a wall. Out of nowhere the monster caught on fire, it screamed in pain. Dean and Sam looked at each other and then at Shia, her eyes was normal but her nose was bleeding and she looked weak. Dean caught her before she could fall on the ground.

"I'm fine, we should get these babies out of here." Shia told Dean as she stood on her own.

"She's superwoman, I love her." Ben said as he grinned at his friends. Dean gave him a look and started to help him get the kids out.

The next day, Shia and Sam stood outside with arms folded and watching Dean talk with Lisa. Sam noticed how Shia stared at the two people interacting, she noticed how Lisa would flirt with him after realizing that Dean was telling her the truth when he came earlier.

"Stop it." Sam told her sternly.

"Stop what?" Shia asked nonchalantly, she knew what he was talking about but she didn't want to be embarrassed.

"You know what. Dean loves you, Shia."

"I can't help but to think. I mean, what if Ben is his kid? Then he should be there for him."

"He's not." Sam told her. "Dean explained a lot of things to me on our drive to her house last night, as far as I'm concerned that baby in the car fast asleep is his one and only child."

"Really?" Shia said as she turned around to look in the window at her baby who was asleep.

"Yeah, really."

"Okay."

"You know, he really does love you. I can tell, the way he looks at you. You and Lynx, you two are his world." Sam said encouragingly to the tired demi god who stood beside him.

"You're right. I'm sorry, I just —I feel like I have to get jealous."

"You don't need to explain."

The conversation between Dean and Lisa was slightly awkward, but Dean knew for sure that Ben wasn't his and he was disappointed in a way, but was okay with it.

"I don't know. Ben may not be your kid, but ... he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you. That's a lot if you ask me." Lisa said with a smile.

"You know, just for the record... you got a great kid. I would've been proud to be his dad." Dean said as he looked back at the opened door, he then noticed Shia looking his way but she then turned her face. Dean was filled with guilt. Lisa leaned in for a kiss but Dean rejected her, she looked at Dean and was disappointed.

"Look, Lisa, I have a kid...and a fiancée." Dean confessed to the dark haired woman.

"You do?" Lisa asked a little taken aback.

"Yeah." Dean said as he pulled out a picture of him holding Lynx just after three days she was born, in the picture a very tired Dean stared down at his sleeping baby with awe.

"That baby at the park was yours? Oh, she's gorgeous. She looks just like you. And I'm guessing the girl out there is the lucky lady?"

"Uh, yeah, we've known each since we were younger. We, uh, we've been together for two almost three years." Dean told her, smiling a little as he thought about his relationship with Shia.

"You're in love and I was too blind to see." Lisa said as she looked down and then back up at Dean. "I guess you should get going, huh?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Lisa."

"Anytime." After a long hug between the two, they went their separate ways. Dean walked towards the impala but stopped to look at Shia, he grabbed her and kissed her passionately.

"I love you."

"I know you do, Dean, I love you too." Shia said with a soft smile, Dean kissed her again. "Sam, I'll take you back to the motel. I think me, Shia, and Lynx should give you some time alone."

"Sounds good." Sam said as he got in the passenger seat. Shia looked at Dean curiously.

"And where are we going?"

"To the park! They have a concession stand." Dean said like a little child and got in the impala quickly with a grinning Shia getting in the backseat with a sleeping Lynx.  
_

**I really you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please, like or comment...maybe both. :) What did you guys think of this chapter? Do you like Lynx being on hunts with them or no? I mean, I understand the risk but I want Shia and Dean to be parenting her as well. I'm sure they won't let anything happen to the baby, you can count on that. xx**


	34. Chapter 34: Bad Day At Black Rock (3x03)

Carry on my wayward son, they'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more. -Kansas  
_

You look so wonderful in your dress, I love your hair like that. The way it falls on the side of your neck, down your shoulders and back.

We are surrounded by all of these lies  
And people who talk too much, you got the kind of look in your eyes as if no one knows anything but us.

Should this be the last thing I see  
I want you to know it's enough for me  
'Cause all that you are is all that I'll ever need

I'm so in love, so in love  
So in love, so in love. -Ed Sheeran.  
_

Bad Day At Black Rock (3x03)

~A couple of days after The Kids Are Alright~

Shia looked at her reflection in the mirror, she was nervous and scared. She didn't have cold feet, no, but she was scared. What if this is a mistake? What if he regrets it? Questions of doubt flooded her mind, but she shoved it aside. She loves him, there was no doubting that. Shia smiled at her self, she thought never in a million years she would be getting married. And to Dean Winchester at that.

Bobby walked in the bride's dressing room looking for Shia, he had his hair slick back and black suit on. He stared at his little girl, she wore a peach dress that benefited her curves, she had a rose pink flower banquet in her hands. Her make up was flawless and her hair was done beautifully.

"You ready, baby girl?" Bobby asked Shia, she turned around to face him and smiled. Bobby was trying so hard not to tear up but I don't think he could help it, he realized that he finally had to face the truth...his little girl is all grown up.

"You okay, daddy?" Shia asked as she walked toward him, she noticed his tears falling and wiped them away. "I can't believe I'm getting married."

"I can't believe it's to Dean Winchester," Bobby huffed but then looked in Shia's beautiful brown eyes. "John would have been proud."

"Thanks, dad." Shia said as her voice broke, she pulled Bobby into a tight hug to which her hugged her back just as tightly.

"Okay, they're about to start. He's waiting on you." Bobby said, he motioned for Shia to loop her arm through Bobby's arm and she gladly did with a smile.

The doors opened slowly and the guest in the room watched as the bride walked down the room. Dean looked at Shia with awe, he thought she was beautiful before she was in that dress but now...she's flawless. Sam and Tanner grinned at each other as they watch Dean's eyes get filled with love with each step Shia took. Julius, Michael, Michael's wife, Jo, and Ellen were all dressed up for the event. Lynx laid asleep in Sam's arms as he held the small box with both rings inside.

There Shia was, at the alter...with Dean Winchester.

"Bobby Singer, do you give your daughter Shia Sharaye Colten to Dean Matthew Winchester?" Preacher Hale asked the older hunter friend of his.

"I do." Bobby said, and if no one was mistaking his voice broke when he said it. It was understanding because he just gave his daughter to another man, it's a hard moment for a father. Shia took a step where she was in front of Dean with the veil hanging in front of her face. Although Dean knew who was behind the veil, he still couldn't wait to see her face fully.

"We are gathered here, fellow hunters, to join Dean Winchester and Shia Colten in holy matrimony. As of right now, we have written vows these to who are going to be joined would like to say. Let's start with you, Dean."

Dean then grabbed Shia's free hand, and smiled. His eyes were getting filled with tears, then he spoke. "Where do I begin? I love you. I know it's a simple thing to say but it's true. September 6, 1995, I was at Bobby's house. I heard the doorbell ring, so I answered it. I opened the door and there you were. I saw a short, dorky, cute girl with terrible bangs standing in the doorway. I didn't know what to say but my first thought was 'Wow, she's a babe.' 10 years later I realized that I wanted to be with you and two years later our beautiful daughter was born. I want you to know that no matter what happens in this life, nothing...and I mean nothing, will make me love you any less than I do." Shia stood there speechless, Dean never told her those things and she didn't know that he remembered the date he first saw her.

"That was beautiful, son." Preacher Hale said to Dean with a nod. "It's time to hear from the bride."

"Well, I...I wrote a letter, actually. I hope you like it. Dear Dean, I never thought this day would ever happen. I never thought it would be true, for us to join together as one...I thought it was some fairytale joke and at any moment now, I'll wake up. But no, this is reality. You and me, Mr. And Mrs. Winchester, it has a nice ring to it. I love you. Oh, I love you more than you could ever imagine. I guess I should be honest and say that I hated you for a while, I thought you were repulsive, arrogant, and just plainly stupid. But you proved me wrong. I guess the more time I spent with you, the more I realized how well we balance each other out. I bring the crazy and you bring the 'give them hell' kind of attitude. I really want this day to mean something to you, and to me. Everyday, you ask me the same question. And I'll answer it right now. After every kiss you steal from my lips, you ask, will you love me in the morning? My answer is Forever & Always. I love you, babe." Shia said as she officially allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. Dean grabbed her hand a squeezed it, telling her that he loved her.

"Do you, Shia, take this man to be your husband for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Do you, Dean, take this woman to be your wife for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"May I have the rings, Sam?" Preacher Hale asked. Sam nodded with a smile and handed him the small rings. Dean placed his ring on Shia's finger, and Shia placed hers on his.

"You may now kiss your bride, congratulations." Preacher Hale said with a wide smile. Dean lifted the veil and couldn't believe that the beautiful girl he met ten years ago was now his wife.

"What are you waiting for, pretty boy? Aren't you going to kiss me?" Shia asked with a sly smirk. Dean smiled at her before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. So much love, and happiness was put into that kiss, it left Shia breathless.

The wedding was over. Everyone had a good time. Laughs and smiles filled the room, where hunters celebrated two people they cared about getting married. It was a night that everyone will never forget.

Dean and Shia only had one night together, baby free and alone. As a wedding gift, Michael bought them a room at a five star hotel. Their room had a hot tub, room service, a comfortable bed with satin sheet, a steam shower in the bathroom, and a balcony.

"Well, babe, you can't say Michael doesn't love you." Dean said as he but the bag they shared beside the bed they'll sleep in.

"I'll say." Shia said with an amused scoff. She turned around to look at Dean, his gaze wouldn't leave her face. "What are you thinking, Mr. Winchester?"

"Well, Mrs. Winchester, I was thinking how lucky I am to have a wife and a beautiful kid with my wife." Dean said as he pulled Shia close to him, he kissed her lips hard but passionately.

(Warning: Sexual content. If you are not comfortable, please, scroll down until you see a sign.)

Dean gently placed Shia on the bed as he kissed her once more, the burning knot in his stomach grew hotter with each kiss or touch from Shia. Shia moved her hand under Dean's shirt, feeling his abs as he left wet kisses on her neck. Shia gasped with each kiss, she have had sex with Dean plenty of times but at this moment it was different.

"You're beautiful." Dean said as he slowly separated Shia's sun dress from her body and there she laid, bare chested, the only thing that was covered was an area where she needed Dean the most. Shia wrapped and arm Dean's neck as she kissed once more, she used her other hand to guide him to her wet heat. Dean smirked at her eagerness, he was happy the she wanted him just as bad as he wanted her. He rubbed her slowly, trying to find rhythm to go in. Shia's moans filled the room along with Dean's heavy breathing.

"Dean, I need you." Shia said breathlessly as she took off his shirt and helped him out his pants. They were both naked now, they've seen each other naked before but tonight was different. They were a married couple, and very much in love. Dean was on top her and shifted his weight his elbows, being careful not to hurt his wife. Dean slowly lead himself inside of her, being sure to let her adjust to his large size. "I love you."

"I love you too." Dean whispered as he slid in and out of the women he loves, being sure to give her the pleasure she was seeking. Love and passion was the way the were making love tonight, it will go marked as one of the best night in their lives.

0o0o0o0o0o0~~

~Five Days Later~

The '67 Chevy Impala was traveling along a quiet, dark road. Sam and Dean were arguing while Shia sat in the back reading a book about demon deals, she would never admit this to Dean but she has been doing some research as well.

"Why, Dean?!" Sam asked as he tried to figure out why he was on the fence about getting help with his deal.

"Because it's a demon, that's why. I mean the second you find out this Ruby chick is a Demon you go for the holy water! You don't chat!" Dean said as he kept his eyes on the road.

"No one was chatting, Dean."

"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you send her ass back to Hell?"

"Because - Because she said she might be able to help us out!" Sam informed his brother, the news was so confusing that Shia had to look up at him as well.

"How?" Dean and Shia asked in unison. Sam didn't say anything, instead he paused. "No really, Sam, how? How could she possibly help us?"

"She told me she could help you, OK?" Sam tried to tell him but Dean was not getting it. "Help you out of the crossroads deal." Dean looked at Sam incredulously.

"What is wrong with you, huh? She's lying, you gotta know that, don't you? She knows what your weakness is – it's me." Dean said but then paused.

"What else did she say?" Shia asked for Dean. Sam was silent, he didn't know how to answer anything.

"Dude?" Dean asked growing impatient.

"Nothing. Nothing, OK?! Look I'm not an idiot Dean, I'm not talking about trusting her, I'm talking about using her. I mean we're at war, right? And we don't know jack about the enemy; we don't know where they are, we don't know what they're doing. I mean, hell, we don't know what they want. Now this Ruby girl knows more than we will ever find out on our own. Now yes, it's a risk, I know that, but we need to take it."

"You're okay right, I mean you're feeling okay?" Dean asked.

"Yes I'm fine, Why are you always asking me that?" Sam asked, but then a phone started to ring, both Sam and Shia reached for their phone but it wasn't theirs ringing. Shia even grabbed Dean's phone and that wasn't ringing.

"It's not mine." Sam said.

"It's not mine either. Dean, yours is not ringing, babe."

"Check the glove compartment, it's Dad's." Dean said after thinking about if for a second.

"Dad's?"

"Yes, I keep it charged up in case any of his old contacts call." Sam opened the glove compartment, he found John's phone and answered it.

"Hello? Yes... this is Edgar Cayce...No! No, no, no, don't – don't call the police, I'll handle this myself. Thanks. You know, can you just uh, can you just lock it back up for me? Great. Uhm, I- I uh, I don't have my - my book in front of me, do you- do you have the address so I can... Sure, OK. Go ahead. Right, thanks a lot." Sam ended the call and looked at Dean. "Dad ever tell you he kept a container at a storage place?"

"What?"

"Outside of Buffalo?"

"No way." Dean said amusingly, not believing it.

"Yeah. And someone just broke into it." Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

"John sure had a lot of secrets." Shia mumbled as she read a text from Bobby.

'Just put the little one to bed, she's fine.'

Dean noticed Shia staring at her and sighed, he knew that she hated leaving Lynx behind but it was something they had to do sometimes.  
"How's my chunky monkey?" Dean asked as his eyes shifted from Shia to the road. Shia gave him a small smile.

"She's fine. Daddy just put her to sleep." Shia told him as she shifted in the backseat, trying to get comfortable so she could rest her eyes. Moments later she was sound asleep, Dean looked at her a couple times before turning to Sam and sighing.

"What?" Sam asked noticing the mood change of his brother.

"I want you to take care of her and Lynx when it's time for my deal to be up." Dean told his little brother. Sam looked at Dean and then looked away, he scoffed as he shook his head.

"You're not going to hell, Dean. I promise you that."

"Yeah, Sammy, I hear you. I'm just saying for future reference. I want you to take care of them. I love my girls."

"I know, Dean. I know."

The Winchesters and Mrs. Winchester was in the storage facility elevator, Dean looked at his wife and then his brother.

"Man..." Dean said with a sigh, as he wrapped an arm around Shia's waist.

"What?" Sam and Shia asked together. Shia smirked a little afterward, she thought that they've been doing the while unison thing a lot lately and sooner or later it's going to get on her nerves.

"Just Dad. You know him and his secrets. Spend all this time with the guy and it's like we barely even know the man." Dean said pulling Shia to him even closer than they already were. Shia laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Well, we're about to learn something." Sam said as if ready to see what the hell John Winchester could be hiding in a storage room.

Sam, Dean, and Shia exit the elevator and found the storage container. Dean unlocked the padlock and opened the sliding door, both brothers with flashlights at the ready. Dean grabbed Shia's hand and intertwined it, making sure she sticks close to him. On the dusty floor of the container was a symbol drawn in red, along with several bloody footprints.

"No demons allowed, obviously." Shia said as she looked at devil symbols everywhere.

"Blood. Check this out." Dean said as he held up a tripwire which is attached to a shotgun hidden in a large animal skull.

"Whoever broke in here got tagged." Sam said with a shake of his head.

"Dear old Dad. I got two sets of boot treads here, looks like it was a two-man job. And our friend with the buckshot in him looks like he kept walking."

"So what's the deal? Dad would do work here or something?"

"Living the high life, as usual." Dean mumbled.

Sam, Shia and Dean ventured further inside. Dean aimed his flashlight on the skull and shook his head, laughing. Shia laughed with him. Sam looked over a desk while Dean picked up a trophy from a shelf, scraping the dust off.

"1995." Dean said. Shia knew who's trophy it was and smiled.

"No way! That's my Division Championship soccer trophy. I can't believe he kept this." Sam said like an excited nine year old who won free ice cream for a week.

"Yeah... It was probably about the closest you ever came to being a boy." Dean said as he wandered over to another treasure. "Oh, wow! It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself. Sixth grade." Dean said as he laughed and pumped the shotgun.

"It looks great, babe." Shia said with a grin and then turned to see a picture of her at her highschool prom junior year. "Dad must have given John a copy, wow, I was adorable." Both Sam and Dean walked over look at the girl with a big dress and big hair. Sam and Dean laughed at the picture finding it funny, Shia glared at the boys which made them laugh harder.

"Who was that loser of a date that you had anyways?" Dean said and if Shia wasn't mistaken, he sound a little jealous.

"His name was Danny, he was the cutest guy in school."

"Yeah, right."

"Dean, dude, are you jealous?" Sam asked his brother with an amused grin. Shia looked at Dean waiting for an answer. Dean looked at the both of them and scoffed.

"What? No!"

"Mmhmm." Shia said as she looked around at other things. Sam looked at his brother again with a small grin.

"I'm serious. I'm not jealous." Dean said out loud for Sam and Shia to hear but the both know the truth so the ignored him. Sam moved further into the container and opened a door to a back room. The chain on the door has been cut. Sam, Shia and Dean entered and pass their flashlights over the scene.

"Holy crap. Look at this, he had land mines... Which they didn't take. Or the guns. I guess they knew what they were after, huh?" Dean said. Shia spotted boxes inscribed with symbols on a far shelf.

"Hey guys, check this out. See these symbols? That's binding magic. These are curse boxes." Shia said as she showed the boys, she gave Sam the box and he looked at it.

"She's right."

"No shit, Sam." Shia said amusingly.

"Curse boxes? Th – they're supposed to keep the evil mojo in, right, kinda like the Pandora deal?" Dean asked trying to prevent a small 'sibling cat fight' between the two.

"Yeah. Yeah, they're built to contain the power of the cursed object." Sam informed his brother.

"Well Dad's journal did mention a whole bunch of stuff, you know? Dangerous hexed items, fetishes ... He never did say where they ended up."

"Yeah. Well this must be his toxic waste dump." Sam said as he noticed a rectangular shape in the dust and ran his finger along the dust. "One box is missing... Great."

"Well, maybe they didn't open it." Dean said hopefully.

"Babe, how much you want to bet that these dumbasses did open the damn thing?" Shia asked.

"I bet a dollar." Dean said with a smirk.

"You're on." Shia said as she places her hands on her waist.

"Shouldn't we seal the deal with a handshake?" Dean asked. Shia reached for a handshake but Dean grabbed her hand and pulled her close and kisses her. Shia didn't push him away, instead, she kissed him back. Sam stood there awkwardly.

"Okay, guys, let's get going." Sam said as he walked pass the loving couple with a shake of his head.

Sam, Dean, and Shia pulled up in an alley beside the apartment block, next to another car. Dean leaned out and checked the car's plates.

"Connecticut. Last three digits 880."

"Yep, that's it."

"Should've blacked out their plates before they parked in front of the security camera..." Dean said.

"I told you they were dumbasses, babe. Give me my dollar." Shia said with her hand out.

"We don't know if they opened it yet." Dean said trying to make Shia think that he still had a chance to win the bet.

Shia, Sam and Dean broke into the apartment, armed, and sneaked inside. They heard two men talking.

"Royal Flush. Grossman, that's the second Royal Flush in eight hands." A man said with pure happiness and excitement.

"Yeah, this is a lot of fun." The other man said in a bummed out way. Shia assumed that the guy must have been losing this whole time.

"I can't lose. I mean really, I - I can't lose! Maybe this thing really works? You know what I'm saying? Ah – I tell you something there's no way in Hell we are handing it over to that stuck-up bitch now, not after all we've been through. Uh uh. Let's go, huh? Let's get out of here, let's go have some fun." The man who was winning said Dean, Shia, and Sam bursted into the room with their guns drawn.

"FREEZE, FREEZE! NOBODY MOVE!" Dean yelled like he was a policeman who just found a drug spot.

"Don't move!" Sam warned them but they moved.

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" Shia said loudly trying to give them another warning.

"What is this?" The man that continued to win asked.

"STOP!" Sam shouted.

"All right, give us the box. And _please_ tell me that you didn't–" Dean started to say but Sam cut his sentence short.

"Oh they did." Sam said. Shia shook her head, as of right now she didn't care about winning the bet. Well, she did...but that's not important right now.

"You opened it?!" Dean shouted in an annoyed way.

"Bunch of dumbasses." Shia mumbled as she clicked the safety of her gun off. Dean shoved the winning guy against the wall. Shia looked at the bills to the apartment and noticed that the guy name is Wayne.

"Are you guys cops?" Wayne asked.

"Huh?"

"ARE YOU GUYS COPS?!" Wayne asked all of the sudden growing some balls.

"What was in the box?" Dean asked calmly trying to get some answers out the poor guy. Wayne glanced over at the coffee table where the rabbit's foot sat. Dean followed his gaze and got completely confused.

"Oh, was that it, huh? It wasn't it? What is that thing?" Dean asked. Shia was trying to figure it out while Wayne used Dean's distraction to knock the gun from his hand. It fell to the floor, causing it to go off. The bullet ricochets off a radiator and hit Sam's gun, causing it to fly beside him to hit Shia in the face and knocking her out. The same bullet then ricochets again and broke a lamp. Sam and Grossman both go for his gun. Grossman pushed Sam into Dean. Dean fell back on the coffee table, launching the rabbit's foot into the air.

"Sorry!" Sam said awkwardly to Dean. Grossman threw himself at Sam, sending them both to the floor, and then started punching Sam in the face. Wayne went for Dean's gun. As he picked it up and aimed for Sam, he hit Dean, who has just gotten up, square under the chin, knocking him down again. Grossman was now trying to strangle Sam. Sam desperately tried to reach for the rabbit's foot, which is almost out of reach. Sam just manages to grab it, then knocked Grossman hands away from his throat and kicked him back into a corner. Sam got up.

"DEAN! I got it!" Sam shouted at Dean triumphantly. Wayne moved forward and cocked Dean's gun in Sam's face.

"No you don't." Wayne said surly. Grossman got his hands on Sam's gun while Wayne pulled the trigger on Sam. The gun jammed. Wayne panicked and tried to clear the chamber, while Dean got up and tried to stop him. Wayne was surprised and stumbled back, tripping over a rug and falling back over the couch. He knocked himself out. Sam and Dean looked at each other, confused. Grossman got up and tried to point the gun at Sam.

"SAM!" Dean yelled out trying to warn his little brother. As Grossman moved, the books on the bookshelves behind him suddenly fell off and onto his head, knocking him out cold. Sam's gun flew out of his hand and Sam caught it. Dean looks astounded.

"That was a lucky break!" Dean chuckled a little but then paused. "Is that a rabbit's foot?!" Sam held it up.

"I think it is." Sam said.

"Huh." Dean scoffed. Not even a minute later Shia woke up for being unconscious, Shia groaned out in pain. Dean went straight over to her to help her up. "You alright, babe."

"Did we win?" Shia slurred and then passed out again but Dean caught her.

"Damn, that gun hit her pretty hard." Dean said as he picked her up bridal style. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Outside the Biggerson's parking lot, Dean walked over to the Impala with a paper bag in his hands. He got in the impala with a grin, Sam was already inside. Dean took something out of the bag and a water bottle handing it to a very conscious Shia. She had a terrible headache and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"I'm not finding anything on it in Dad's journal." Sam said as he flipped through some pages in the journal. Dean held up several scratch cards in front of Sam.

"Dean, come on." Sam said in an annoyed way.

"What?! Hey, that was my gun he was aiming at your head, and my gun don't jam. So that was a lucky break. Not to mention them taking themselves out, also a lucky break. Here, scratch one. C'mon Sam, scratch and win!" Dean said excitingly. Dean handed over a coin and a card. Sam scratched it.

"Dean, it's gotta be cursed somehow. Otherwise Dad wouldn't have locked it up." Sam tried to tell his brother. Sam handed the card back.

"$1200... You just won $1200!" Dean shouted out as he laughs. Shia then hit him in the back off his head. "Ow!"

"What part of I have a damn headache do you not understand?" Shia hissed at her excited husband.

"Sorry, babe." Dean apologized and then looked at Sam. "I don't know, man, it doesn't seem that cursed to me!" Dean handed Sam another card expectantly. Moments later Dean laid out 6 scratch cards on the hood of the Impala, calculating their winnings.

"Oh, man!" Dean laughed looking at the amount of money Sam had won for them. Shia was beside Sam while he was on the phone with Bobby. Shia would turn around to look at Dean and smile, he looks completely happy.

"Now look Bobby, we didn't know." Sam tried to explain to the old hunter over the phone.

"You touched it? Damn it, Sam!" Bobby said disappointingly.

"Well Dad never told us about this thing. I mean you knew about his storage place at Black Rock?" Sam asked.

"His lockup? Yeah, I knew. Hell I built those curse boxes for him." Bobby told him. "Listen, you have got a serious problem." Sam noticed something shining under a newspaper on the ground. It was a gold watch. Shia looked at it with wide eyes, Sam shrugged at her. "That rabbit's foot ain't no dime store notion." Sam picked up the watch, turned and showed it to Dean. Dean mouthed "awesome!" Shia just shook her head and chuckled to herself.  
"It's real Hoodoo, Old World stuff. Made by a Baton Rouge conjure woman about a hundred years ago." Bobby continued to inform Sam.

"It's a hell of a luck charm." Sam said after just finding a gold charm.

"It's not a luck charm, it's a curse! She made it to kill people, Sam! See, you touch it, you own it. You own it, sure, you get a run of good luck to beat the Devil. But, you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad that you're dead inside a week."

"Well, so I won't lose it, Bobby." Sam said as if he had everything planned.

"EVERYBODY LOSES IT!" Bobby shouted at Sam over the phone trying to get him to understand what danger he was in.

"Well, then, how do we break the curse?" Sam asked.

"I don't know if you can." Bobby said with a sigh. Sam placed the rabbit's foot in his jacket pocket. "Lemme look through my library and make some calls. "Just sit tight." Bobby was about to end the call until he heard Shia's voice on the other end.

"Daddy, how's Lynx? Is she being a good girl for you?" Shia said worriedly into the phone.

"She's fine. Quit your worrying, she eats, sleep, poop, and repeat. She doesn't do much. I'm keeping a good eye on her. Relax, she's in good hands." Bobby told his daughter as she looked at his grand baby again.

"Okay, well, I was just checking. I miss her. Give her a kiss for me, will you?"

"Yeah, I will. Bye, baby girl."  
Bobby said as he ended the call. He turned to look at Lynx who was in a carrier that rock her side to side, at the moment she was still. "Your uncle gotten himself in trouble." Bobby said to her, she attempted to give him a small which she succeeded but she didn't know that. Bobby turned to the table and looked at the Colt he was working on.

Outside the Biggerson's restaurant, in the parking lot, Dean continued to count his money and be happy about it.

"Dude! We're up fifteen grand!" Dean said excitingly. Shia hasn't seen him this happy since Lynx was born. Sam gave a half-smile, looking worried.

After a few moments of staying outside, the trio decided to get something to eat.

"Don't worry, Bobby'll find a way to break it. Until then I say we pick up Lynx, go to Vegas, and pull an epic rain man. You can be rain man." Dean said as he entered the restaurant holding Shia's hand.

"Vegas is no place for our baby." Shia told Dean.

"Look, we just lay low until Bobby calls back, Okay?" Sam highly suggested to his brother, he then turned to the restaurant host. "Hi, uh, table for two please."

"CONGRATULATIONS!" The restaurant host said with excitement while an alarm went off.

"It's exciting, I know." Dean said with a chuckle.

"You are the one millionth guest of the Biggerson's Restaurant family!" The host notified us. The staff started singing and taking photographs. Balloons and streamers fall from the ceiling. Sam looked embarrassed, Shia looked extremely worried while Dean looked ecstatic.

Later, the Winchester trio was now seated at their table. Sam was on his laptop while Dean was eating a bowl of ice cream. Shia sat there beside Dean sipping on her iced tea.

"Bobby's right. This lore goes way back. Pure Hoodoo. You can't just cut one off any rabbit. Has to be in a cemetery, under a full moon, on a Friday the thirteenth." Sam said as he read his research out to the married couple in front of him.

"I think from now on, we only go to places with Biggerson's." Dean said not really paying attention to Sam. Shia nodded at Sam, basically telling him she was listening. Dean was suddenly struck with brain freeze from the ice cream. Sam laughed as a waitress with black, short hair approached their table with more coffee. Shia stopped grinning and looked the woman, she was familiar as hell but she couldn't place her face anywhere.

"Can I freshen you up?" The waitress asked Sam with a flirty smile.

"Yeah, yeah sure. Thanks." Sam said to her. The waitress poured more coffee but, smiling at him, spilled some.

"Oh!" The waitress said frowning at her mistake.

"Oh! Oh I uh-" Sam stuttered.

"Let me mop up here." She offered.

"No, no don't worry it's okay, It's okay- I got it, uh..."

"It's no trouble, really." She offered once more. Shia only stared at the girl, getting an extremely bad vibe from her.

"Okay." Sam said.

"Sorry about that."

"It's all right."

The waitress appeared to be flirting with Sam. Sam gave Dean a look. The waitress finished cleaning up and walked away, looking over her shoulder as she leaves and smiles. Sam and Dean both leaned in and watched her retreating.

"Dude. If you were _ever_ gonna get lucky..." Dean said with a smile, but then turned to see Shia look at him with a raised eyebrow and rolled her eyes.

"Shut up." Sam said to Dean with a smirk. Sam went to pick up his coffee, knocked the cup over and managed to spill it all over the table and himself. Sam jumped out of his seat.

"Oh! Oh Geez, uh..." Sam turned and a waiter with a full tray crashed straight into him, sending things flying and causing a scene. Dean looked shocked. And Shia was more than shocked but scared.

"Sorry!" Sam said awkwardly to the waiter. Sam turned back to Dean and Shia.

"How was that good?" Dean asked. Sam searched his jacket pocket and came up empty. The rabbit's foot was gone. Shia then went wide eyed now realizing what happened.

"Son of a bitch." Dean said looking around.

"Oh, this is bad." Shia said as the all got up to get out of the restaurant. Sam, Shia, and Dean rushed out of the restaurant.

"Come on!" Dean said to Sam who was behind a little. Sam then fell flat on his face. Dean and Shia slowed down and turned around.

"Wow! You suck!" Dean said to his baby brother.

"Oh, Sam, honey." Shia said as she walked over quickly to help Sam up.

"Ow..." Sam pouted. Shia looked over Sam's face to see if he had any injuries.

"So what, now your luck turns bad?

Sam's jeans are torn at both knees, which are bloody and raw. Shia looked at them and looked back at Sam with sad eyes. "I guess." Sam said sadly.

"I wonder how bad?" Dean asked, mostly to himself.

Inside the apartment that the Winchester trio went to earlier, Grossman was holding a photograph of himself and Wayne, his dead best friend. Grossman held up a bottle of Tequila and sadly toasted the memory of Wayne.

"Adios, compadre." Grossman said slurring slightly, he poured a lug of Tequila on the floor, then took a large swig. The door to the apartment opened, Dean, Shia and Sam walked in. Sam and Shia hung back while Dean walked forward a little.

"Oh, man. What do you want?" Grossman groaned.

"Heard about your friend. That's bad luck." Dean said stepping a little forward.

"Piss off."

"We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot. A woman."

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" He challenged Dean. Shia noticed that he was shocked that they had gotten that information.

"Because she just stole it back from us." Dean told the slightly drunk man, he then laughed.

"Listen man, this is seri-" Sam began to say, but when he stepped forward, he tripped on a wire on the floor mid-sentence, pulling a CD player off a shelf, Sam crashing to the ground. Sam took out a lamp as he goes. Shia immediately walked over to Sam to make sure if he was okay. Dean just rolled his eyes and doesn't look.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean asked calmly.

"Yeah, I'm good!" Sam said, Shia giggled at him and helped him up.

"I want you to tell us her name." Dean said as dark and clam as he possibly could.

"Screw you." Grossman told him.

"It wasn't a freak accident that killed your partner." Dean told the grieving man.

"What?"

"It was the rabbit's foot." Shia told him from her spot next to Sam.

"You're a crazy bitch."

"You know she's not. You saw what happened, what it did. All the flukes, all the luck. When you lose the foot that luck goes sour. That's what killed your friend. And my brother here is next. And who knows how many more innocent people after that. Now if you don't help us stop this thing, that puts those deaths on your head." Dean said to him, Grossman looked worried. "Now I can read people ... and I get it. You're a thief, and a scumbag, that's fine. But you're not a killer. Are you?"

"No." Grossman whispered.

Shia, Sam and Dean exit the apartment block. Dean's phone started to ring. As Dean answered, he stepped over a large wad of pink bubblegum on the ground, Shia doing the same to stand next to Dean as he was on the phone.

"Hello?" Dean said as he answered the phone, he wrapped his free arm around Shia's waist and pulling her close. Sam followed and there was a squishing sound. He got a deeply frustrated look on his face as he lifted his shoe off of the bubblegum.

"Dean, great news. Wasn't easy but I found a heavyweight cleansing ritual that should do the trick." Bobby told Dean with a hopeful tone.

"Bobby, that's uh, great, 'cept Sam, uh..." Dean and Shia looked over at Sam and grimaced when Sam lifted his shoe. "...Sam lost the foot."

"He WHAT?" Bobby practically shouted in Dean's ear.

"Bobby, Bobby, listen. This, uh, this hot chick stole it from him. I'm serious. In her mid 20's, and she was sharp you know, good enough at the con to play us." Dean explained to the wise hunter.

"By us...you mean you guys, right? I sort of knew she was a rat." Shia mumbled. Dean heard her and gave her a bitch look. Sam was trying to scrape the bubblegum off his shoe using a broken storm drain grating.

"And she only gave the guy she hired a name, probably an alias or something." Dean said but then turned to Sam. "Uh, Luigi or something?" Sam was still scraping his shoe off, paying no attention to Dean.

"Lugosi, babe." Shia said with a small smile.

"Lugosi." Dean told Bobby.

"Lugosi? Lugos - Aw crap, it's probably Bela." Bobby told him letting out an annoyed sigh.

Sam moved his foot too hard, dislodging his shoe. It drops into the drain with a splash. He tried to retrieve it.

"Bela Lugosi? That's cute." Dean said with a small chuckle.

"Bela Talbot's her real name." Shia and Bobby say in unison. Dean looked at Shia and she shrugged.

"Crossed paths with her once or twice. Shia has too, but that was a while ago. Shia hates the girl." Bobby informed Dean.

"Well she knew about the rabbit's foot. Is she a Hunter?"

"Pretty friggin' far from a Hunter, but she knows her way around the territory. She's been out of the country. Last I heard she was in the Middle East someplace."

"Ah, I guess she's back."

"Which means seriously bad luck for you." Bobby said seriously.

"Great." Dean said sarcastically.

"But, if it is Bela...At least I might know some folks who know where to find her."

"Thanks, Bobby. Again. And thank you for keeping Lynx for us, I know that means less sleep for you, she likes to be up at night."

"No problem. I don't sleep anyways. Just ... look out for your brother, ya idjit." Bobby said before he hung up.

Dean and Shia looked back at Sam. Sam looked thoroughly dejected.

"What?" Dean asked his sad little brother.

"I lost my shoe." Sam said plaintively.

Dean and Shia both looked down at Sam's sock-clad foot and sighed, annoyed. Dean rolled his eyes and turned away. Sam hung his head. Shia shook her head, she felt bad for Sam.

It was clearly night out now, the Impala pulled into the lot and stopped just inside the entrance.

"All right, Bobby, thanks. Hey, we owe ya. Another one." Dean said to Bobby before ending the phone call, he then turned to Sam. "All right, Bobby's got it on pretty good authority that this Bela chick ... lives in Queens. So it'll take me about two hours to get there."

"So what are we doing here?"

"You, my brother, are staying here 'cause I don't want your bad luck getting us killed." Dean told his brother truthfully. Shia giggled a little, then Dean looked at her. "You're staying here too, babe."

"What?!" Shia said, it was then Sam turn to chuckle.

"I need you to watch Sam in case something happen." Dean told her. Shia sat back and sighed. Dean drove the Impala into the main lot, passing an RV on the way.

Once at the motel room, Dean unlocked the door and lead Sam and his wife inside, turning on a light as he went.

"What are me and Shia even supposed to do, Dean?" Sam asked in a sort of annoyed, frustrated way.

"Nothing! Nothing. Come here. I don't want you doing _anything_. I want you to sit right here," Dean said as he pulled a chair into the middle of the room, "and don't move, okay? Don't turn on the light, don't turn off the light. Don't even scratch your nose." Sam sat in the chair.

"And what am I supposed to do, Dean? I actually know the bitch, it would be easier if I went with you." Shia said with her arms crossed.

"I know, but I need you here with Sammy." Dean said as he smirked at her slightly. Dean then leaned in and gave Shia a kiss but then that kiss turned passionate, Shia uncrossed her arms and placed them around Dean's neck making them kiss deeper.

"Newlyweds." Sam scoffed at he tried to look elsewhere, but the sound of them kissing was sort of making his stomach turn. "You two are grossly adorable, believe me, but could you stop?"

Shia and Dean both chuckled at Sam's response. Shia and Sam watched Dean leave, locking the door behind him. Shia then went to the bathroom to freshen up. Sam wrinkled his nose a few times before risking a scratch, doing the thing his brother told him not to.

Sam rocked back and forth on the chair, bored stiff. Shia fell asleep a few minutes ago. Suddenly, the AC unit in the wall in front of Sam started making a clunking, grinding sound. Smoke started to pour out.

"Oh come on, I- I didn't- I wasn't..." Sam said despairingly with a sigh. Sam got up and cautiously approached the unit. The unit caught on fire. Sam grabbed the comforter off the bed Shia wasn't sleeping on and attempted to put out the fire with it. When Sam thought he's got it, he gets up, only to find his jacket sleeve is now on fire. Sam panicked and used the curtain to put it out. The curtain ripped and fell away, revealing two men staring in through the window. Sam fell back, knocking himself out on the floor. One of the guys smiled and looked to the sky in thanks.

A heavier set man threw a glass of water in Sam's face, his cheek was bruised and his nose was bloody. Sam shook the water off while a slimmer man with dirty blond hair watched, sitting on the bed that Shia laid in unconscious, and tied to the head board. Her face was bruised and her lip was busted. Sam sighed as he gain consciousness.

"You were a part of that demon plan to open the gate weren't you? So was the bitch?" The slimmer man asked in a demanding way.

"We did everything we could to stop it. And no, she had no part in it." Sam said softly and calmly.

"Lie lie lie! You were in on it. You know what their next move is too, don't you? If you don't than she knows!" He said as he pointed towards Shia.

"No, I don't, okay? You're wrong about all of this and about Shia."

"Where are they gonna hit us next?" He demanded. Sam sighed and stayed silent. The man hit Sam across the face again. "WHERE?! Gordon told me about you, Sam. About your powers. You're some kinda weirdo psychic freak? And that bitch is a demi god!"

"No, not any more. I – no powers, no visions, nothing, it just—"

"LIAR!" The man shouted as he punched Sam hard. Now, no more lies. There's an army of demons out there pushing at a world already on the brink. We're on deck for the endgame here, right? So maybe, just maybe you can understand why we can't take chances." The blond man drew his gun and pointed it at Sam.

"Whoa, okay, okay, no, do— hold on a minute! —"

"Hey, Kubrick just—" The heavier set man tried to intervene.

"No, you saw what happened, Creedy. Ask yourself, why are we here? Because you saw a picture on the web? Because we chose this motel instead of another? Luck like that doesn't just happen." The man, now known as Kubrick, said.

"Look, I can explain all of that if-" Sam tried to explain.

"Shut up!" Kubrick pointed at Sam without turning around. Sam let out a long-suffering sigh. "It's God, Creedy. He led us here for one reason. To do His work. This ... is destiny."

"Whoa..." Dean said as he stepped into the room. Kubrick aimed the gun point blank at Sam's forehead. Sam squeezed his eyes shut. The sound of another gun being cocked is heard in the room.

"Nope. No destiny. Just a rabbit's foot." Dean said as he pointed his gun at the unknown men.

"Put the gun down, son, or you're gonna be scraping brain off the wall." Kubrick threatened.

"Oh, this thing?"

"Yeah, that thing."

"Okay. But you see, there's something about me that you don't know." Dean said as he put his gun down, looking smug, and picked up a pen sitting next to it.

"Yeah? What would that be?"

"It's my lucky day." Dean told him, Dean tossed the pen toward Kubrick. It lodged itself in the barrel of his gun gun and Sam looked impressed. "Oh my God, did you see that shot!?" The heavier man known as Creedy lunged at Dean and aimed a punch. Dean easily side-stepped and the heavy man ran straight into the wall, falling backwards and hitting the floor. Kubrick stared at the pen in the barrel for a few moments before trying to dislodge it.

"I'm amazing." Dean said cockily, he picked up the TV remote from the table and threw it hard at Kubrick, who was just about to aim for Dean. It hit Kubrick right between the eyes, knocking him out cold. He dropped like a stone.

"I'm Batman." Dean said suavely, if Shia was awake she'd think he was adorable.

"Yeah. You're Batman." Sam said sarcastically, mocking his brother. Dean then quickly helped his brother out the ropes.

"Wait. It's too quiet. Where's Shia?" Dean asked worriedly. Sam only looked towards the bed to see a bruised up Shia tied up there. Dean quickly went over to her to help her. "Babe? Babe?" Dean asked as he touched her face and untied the ropes. Shia groaned painfully, not opening her eyes. "Ah, man, she's going to be pissed when she wakes up. Come on, Sam, let's get the hell out of here."

"Wait."

"What?" Dean asked as he picked up Shia bridal style.

"Feels like this happened already."

"Yeah, Shia been knocked out...twice...and I had to carry her out each time." Dean said with an eye roll. Sam shook his head and followed Dean out the room.

Later at night, the trio was in a cemetery. Sam was crouching, and sprinkled something onto the embers of a small fire. Dean was checking over more scratch cards while Shia stood next to you with a small pack of ice on her head.

"All right. Bone ash, cayenne pepper, that should do it." Sam said.

"One second..." Dean said scratching one more card.

"Dean, you—" Sam began to say.

"Hey, back off, Jinx. I'm bringing home the bacon. I got a baby to feed and a wife to pamper." Dean mumbled. Shia rolled her eyes but still smiled at the sweet thing Dean just said.

"I hate to hurry you two, but please, hurry. I'm ready to get the hell out of here." Shia told the two brothers with her arms now crossed. Dean looked over at her and leaned in to quickly kiss her. Sam sighed, Dean smirked and stashed the cards in his jacket, which was slung over a gravestone.

"All right, say goodbye "wascawy wabbit"." Dean said getting ready to throw the rabbits foot inside the fire. The sound of gun was heard cocking and Dean turned around.

"I think you'll find that belongs to me. Or, you know, whatever." Bela, the waitress from earlier said, but then she paused. "Put the foot down, honey."

"Bela." Shia bitterly mumbled.

"Shia, darling, how's your dear old man?" Bela asked with a sly smirk.

"Uh, no. You're not going to shoot anybody. See I happen to be able to read people. OK, you're a thief, fine, but you're not—" Dean said trying to prevent a fight between the women, knowing who would win. Bela ignored Dean, aimed at Sam and fired. Sam went down, groaning. Shia took one look at Sam and her eyes went to her blue, white color.

"No, Shia, don't." Sam said slowly because if the pain he was in. Shia went over to help him up.

"Son of a—" Dean said a little shock at her actions, he walked towards her a little.

"Back off, tiger. Back off. You make one more move and I'll pull the trigger." Bela threatened and Dean stopped. Sam got up with Shia's help, clutching his shoulder. "You've got the luck, Dean. You, I can't hit. But your brother and your wife? Yes, I've noticed the rings. Congrats, really, but them? I can't miss."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't just go around shooting people like that!" Dean shouted at the British woman.

"Relax. It's a shoulder hit, I can aim. Besides, who here hasn't shot a few people? Put the rabbit's foot on the ground now."

"All right! All right. Take it easy." Dean went to drop the rabbit's foot, but instead threw it at Bela. "Think fast." Bela caught the foot and cursed. Dean smiled in satisfaction.

"Damn!" Bela said with a pissed look on her face.

"Now, what do you say we destroy that ugly-ass piece of dead thing?" Dean asked and Bela sighed in annoyance.

A little bit later, Bela dropped the rabbit's foot in the embers.

"Thanks very much. I'm out one and a half million, and on the bad side of a very powerful, fairly psychotic buyer." Bela sarcastically thanked them.

"Wow. I really don't feel bad about that. Sam?" Dean asked his brother as he wrapped an arm around Shia.

"Nope. Not even a little." Sam said sternly.

"What about you babe?" Dean asked Shia.

"You know I don't feel bad." Shia said stating hardly at Bela.

"Hmm. Maybe next time I'll hang you out to dry." Bela went and leaned on the gravestone where Dean's jacket was.

"Oh don't go away angry, just go away."

"Have a nice night, boys." Bela said with a smirk. Bela walked away, the rabbit's foot burns in the fire.

"You alright, Sam?" Shia asked as she walked beside Dean hand in hand.

"I'll live." Sam said honestly.

"I guess we're back to normal now, huh? No good luck, no bad luck. Oh! I forgot we're up $46000. I almost forgot about the ... scratch tickets."  
Dean searched his jacket and came up empty. Bela's car roared in the distance. Sam and Dean looked at each other while Shia looked down shaking her knowing what just happened, then watch her drive away.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Dean shouted angrily.

"Dean, it's okay. Here." Shia said as she pulled out some scratch tickets that were $5,000 worth. "It's not much, but..." Shia said as she shoved the tickets in Dean's hand with a smile, Dean sort of smirked at her effort in trying to make in stay calm, he then pulled her into a kiss. Sam rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Newlyweds."

"Uh, guys, can we PLEASE go?" Sam begged as he watch his brother and sister-in-law make out.

 _ **I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Feel free to leave a review, comments are always welcomed. Thank you for reading. :)**_


	35. Chapter 35: Sin City (3x04)

Carry on my wayward son, they'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more. —Kansas

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Sin City (3x04)

~A couple days after Bad Day At Black Rock~

Sam was seated in the kitchen at Bobby's house, he was looking through books about demon deals. Suddenly, Tanner walked through the kitchen back door in her waitress outfit. Sam looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey," Sam greeted her as she hung her jacket on the coat rack. Tanner turned to him and gave him a charming smile.

"Sam, what are you doing up so late?" Tanner asked as she placed her hands on her hips. "Where's the Mr. & Mrs. and baby Winchester?"

"Uh, Shia and Dean are upstairs asleep, Lynx is asleep too...well...not for long." Sam said with a light chuckle. Tanner smiled at him before she sat at the table with him. "So, uh, I heard that you're looking for schools to attend?"

"Yeah, I am. I want to go to a good science program. I've found a school, actually."

"Yeah? Where?"

"Well, it's outside this state...and this country." Tanner mumbled now getting very interested with her bracelet she'd gotten a while ago. Sam looked at her with wide eyes, he couldn't believe she was considering a school so out of reach. "Sam—"

"So, that's it? You're just going to apply for a school so far away, where I can't even visit you?" Sam said, in a way he was hurt by this.

"I'm trying to better myself, Sam—"

"It's dangerous out there, Tan."

"I'm no safer there than I am here. There will always be danger, Sam, I'm a big girl. I can handle it. I know how to control my powers now...I will be fine." Tanner explained to Sam as she walked in the living room to sit on the couch. Sam followed after her, he was trying to figure things out.

"What about me? Us? You're just going to leave that behind."

"Sam, I'm not saying that I'm leaving yet, but I'm thinking about it. School there starts in a month, I have two weeks to think. I just— I don't want to lose you as a boyfriend, but I have to do this."

"Boyfriend?" Sam asked with a small smile, as if he didn't hear anything at all as soon as she said the B word.

"Yeah, I mean, we are together, right? Every time you're here we'd go out if I'm not working."

"You're right. We— we could be become e-mail pen pals if you decide to go, I don't want to be in the way." Sam said suddenly getting sad a little again, he felt like there was so much on his plate. His girlfriend leaving, a new baby niece, Dean's deal. It was a bit much.

"Yeah, we could. I'd email you as much as possible. So, I'd like you to keep me updated." Tanner told him as she pulled the ponytail out of hair, letting her beautiful brown hair to fall down her back. She looked at Sam after a small amount of silence, she smiled at him before leaning in to kiss him softly. Sam almost immediately returned the kiss, he gently laid Tanner across the couch as they continued to kiss. Sam's hand slowly went up from her legs to her thighs. Moments later the kissing was becoming heated, Tanner's fingers were locked in Sam's hair as their tongues were fighting from dominance.

"Grossly adorable." A voice from the stairway said with a smirk, the pair separated to see who was talking to them. The man who said it was Dean, he was holding a almost whining Lynx who was hungry. Dean was downstairs to warm up an already made bottle for her in the fridge. Dean walked to the kitchen after saying "Be careful, you two, or you'll end up having to do late bottle feedings with your own kid."

Sam shook his head before looking at Tanner with an apologetic look, Tanner giggled a little as she gently pushed Sam off her to stand on her feet. "Sam, why don't we just take this upstairs?" She said with a wink and running up the stairs with Sam quickly following after her.

"Looks like your uncle is getting lucky tonight, huh, Lynx?" Dean asked his baby girl as he fed her the room temperature body. Shia would always try to get up out of bed to feed or change Lynx, but Dean would stop her and do it himself. He loved spending time with Lynx in the smallest ways, he could never get enough of her. He thought that if he makes this year out to be filled with Lynx and Shia, mostly, then he wouldn't die in vain. Lynx was done with her bottle causing Dean to smile at how she finishes all of her food, like her daddy. He was starting to notice small changes in Lynx, the shade of her hair, the amount of hair she was now, her eyes, her weight, her length. Dean had a beautiful bond with his daughter and he loved it.

~Two Weeks Later~

"Dean, she hasn't gotten that big." Shia said amusingly to Dean as they discussed their daughter Lynx.

"Michael said she's gain almost a half of a pound and she's not even two months, yet." Dean said as he bounced his fussing daughter on his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, new born babies gain weight then lose it...and then gain again in the first four months of life." Shia said as she folded some baby clothes to pack for Lynx.

"And where did you read that?"

"That book I was trying to get you to read about babies, but you wouldn't."

"Which one?"

"The 'My First Baby' one." Shia said with a raised eyebrow at Dean.

"Oh, that one." Dean said as he remembered the book Shia spoke of, Lynx was still fussy but she's gotten a little louder.

"Dean, do you want me to take her?" Shia asked with concern in her eyes. Dean shook his head and mumbled, "I got her, babe."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I know what she wants." Dean said right before singing 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles. Shia looked at the scene in awe as she realized that it was the same thing Mary use to sing to Dean when he was younger. Soon after, Lynx was falling asleep. Dean smiled down at her as he watched her eyes get heavy and slowly fall asleep. Dean laid her in her crib before him and Shia walk out the room.

"Nothing like daddy and daughter." Shia said with a smile. Dean then nodded but then noticed the look she was giving him.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Dean Winchester, are you getting soft on me?" Shia asked smugly.

"What? No!" Dean quickly denied at walked downstairs, but Shia quickly grabbed his arm.

"Did you turn her system on? The one Julius hooked up?" Shia asked before leaving Lynx completely alone. Last week, Julius set up a system in Lynx's room where if evil is near her it goes off, but lately it's been going off and they have no idea why.

"Yeah, but...you've got to tell Julius to fix that damn thing, it's driving us all crazy." Dean said as he walked downstairs, Shia nodded and pulled out her phone.

'Julius, will you please come fix this damn system thing?' Shia texted her brother.

Seconds later.

'What's wrong with it?'

'Just come, alright?'

"You want to explain to me what's going on?" Julius said right after orbing behind Shia. Instinctly, Shia flinched but turned around quickly.

"You scared the crap out me. Look, almost every five minutes, that damn thing goes off, we come running in here and Lynx is staring up at us and there's nothing around to harm her. It scares us to death each time." Shia explained. Julius nodded at what she told him, but was suspicious about something totally different.

"Alright, I'll fix it."

"Okay." Shia said as she made her way down the stairs. Julius waited until he was sure that Shia downstairs before he went into Lynx room, over to her crib just to see her stare right up at him. Julius couldn't help but grin at her.

"Lynx Mary-Samantha Anne Winchester. Have you grown into your powers? You set off the alarm knowing that everyone would come running? Just to get attention. Hmm. Smart baby. You totally take after me." Julius said with a smirk. Lynx then attempted a small smile to which she succeeded but was not aware of doing so. "Lynx, you've got to be a good girl, don't do that to mommy and daddy." Julius then gave her a little kiss on the forehead and walked downstairs. Shia raised and eyebrow at his grinning expression.

"Did you fix the problem?"

"Oh yeah, definitely."

"Yeah, what was it? A shortage?" Dean huffed as he cleaned one of his guns.

"No, just a baby who wants attention." Julius said with a wide grin.

"What?" Everyone in the room said in unison.

"Whoa, creepy. But, yeah, Lynx is growing into her powers. Well, I think she's always had powers but...she's learning how to use them, which is weird since she's so young." Julius explained. Bobby then looked at Tanner, then Tanner looked at Sam, then Sam looked at Dean, then Dean looked at Shia. Shia stared at Julius and then shook her head. 'I should have told them sooner.'

"Athena came to see Lynx a couple of weeks ago, during her visit, she told me something else...about my dad," Shia told them shifting uncomfortably on her feet, all eyes went to Bobby and he shrugged not knowing what was going on. "Not Bobby, my real dad. His name is Ronald Greggy."

"Wow, sucky name." Julius said with a sly smirk, he then looked at Shia and got serious. "What about him?"

"He's human, but not completely..."

"Meaning?" Dean asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.

"Meaning...he was a Warlock, a male witch...the good kind...he was part human as well."

"So, you're saying I married a demi god witch who happens to be a little human, plus I have a baby who is amazingly powerful and now that the whole fucking world knows that she's born bad things could happen to her? Nice, just fucking nice." Dean said with an annoyed expression, he got up to walk off but Shia grabbed his arm.

"Dean—" Shia said.

"Don't. Okay? Just save it." Dean said, he leaned in closer to her face. "You should have told me." Dean walked off to the other room to cool down.

"I— I didn't think it would matter." Shia said softly to everyone who remained in the room.

"Yeah, it does, Shia. Look, I have to get back, I have some things to do. But, what I can do afterwards is call Michael and discuss this so we can figure out things about our niece. I'll see around." Julius said before giving his sister a tight hug and orbing away. Shia turned around to see Tanner, Sam, and Bobby staring at her. As if on cue the system for Lynx went off upstairs, Shia remembered what Julius said but then Lynx started to cry bloody murder. Shia orbed up to the room instantly to see her baby in her force shield bubble, she ran over to her to pick her up calming her down instantly. Moments later everyone else came running into the room. Dean shoved his way in front of them.

"What happened?" Dean asked as his walked over to Shia and his daughter who was still a little fussy. Dean placed his hand on his daughters head and looked at Shia, he put his forehead against hers. "She's alright."

"Evil was here this time." Tanner said as she looked around the room and then her gaze landed in the front of Lynx's crib. "Whatever it was, it was watching over her."

"Did it hurt her?" Everyone asked Tanner in unison, and she shook her head.

"It's intentions wasn't to hurt her, just to watch over her."

"Do you know what it is?" Dean asked.  
"No...I don't. My powers aren't picking up on that...just...I know it's evil." Tanner said as she looked to the ground, now all she wanted to do was keep her small niece safe.

"Are you sure she's alright?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, Lynx is fine, it couldn't get to her."

"Good, we're glad she's okay. We'll be downstairs. I'm going to try to find out what's going on with why things are coming in my house to try and do something to my grand baby." Bobby said in his gruff, deep slight southern accent. Sam intertwined Tanner's fingers with his and walked out the room. Shia looked into Dean's eyes, her body was telling him sorry. Dean leaned to kiss her softly, to which Shia kissed him back.

"We're married now, and we have a baby...you got to let me know things." Dean said after he kissed her once more.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I know." Dean said as he leaned to kiss Lynx's forehead. "How about we take her with us downstairs?"

"Good idea." Shia said with a sly smirk.

~Two days later~

Bobby was working on the Colt, while Dean melted metal into bullets. Shia was playing with Lynx by kissing her belly and making silly noises. Lynx would just stare up at her but would still try her best to smile, showing off her small dimples. Bobby looked at a magnifying glass at the Colt, and looked at a diagram of parts.

"Hey." Sam said as he walked into the room where the men worked and where a mommy and played together.

"Hey, what's up?" Dean asked looking from the bullets he was melting.

"Might've found some omens in Ohio. Dry lightning, barometric-pressure drop." Sam told him as he crossed his arms.

"Well, that's thrilling." Dean sarcastically said. His gaze would shift from Sam to Shia and his daughter, watching his two girls interact will always be priceless.

"Plus, some guy blows his head off in a church and another goes postal in a hobby shop before the cops take him out." Sam continued to explain. "Might be demonic omens."

"Or it could just be a suicide and a psycho scrapbooker."

"Yeah, but it's our best lead since Lincoln."

"Where in Ohio?" Dean asked.

"Elizabethville. It's a half-dead factory town in the rust belt."

"There's got to be a demon or two in South Beach. It could be a case/family vacation...Lynx's first beach day."

"Sorry, baby daddy. Maybe next time." Sam said with a smile, he really admired how Dean always thought of Lynx and Shia.  
"How's it going, Bobby?"

"Slow." Bobby said in all honest.

"Eh, I tell you, it's a little sad seeing the Colt like that." Dean said looking over to the table where the Colt laid.

"Well, the only thing it's good for now is figuring out what makes it tick." Bobby said with a concentrated look.

"So what makes it tick?" Sam asked. Bobby looked up – not amused. Sam held his hands up in amusement.

"So, if we want to go check out these omens in Ohio…" Dean began to say teasingly and straight-faced "... you think you can have that thing ready by this afternoon?" Sam chuckled, Bobby stared at Dean incredulously.

"Well, it won't kill demons by then, but I can promise you it'll kill _you_." Bobby said in a serious way. Shia then walked over to them holding Lynx on her shoulder.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shia asked bouncing Lynx softly in her arms, Dean leaned over and kissed the baby on the forehead then kissed Shia on her lips.

"We caught a case. Are you in or...?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'll come. In Ohio, right?" Shia asked. Sam nodded in response and then held his arms out to hold Lynx, Shia gave him the baby. "Well, we'll pass by Michael...we can drop Lynx off there...he's been wanting to keep her."

"Sounds good." Bobby said with a nod.

"All right, come on, we're wasting the daylight." Dean said as he made his way to the bags they packed days ago in case they caught a case.

"See you, Bobby."

"Bye, daddy." Shia said as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. The trio and baby started to leave until Bobby stopped them.

"Hey! You kids run into anything — anything — you call me." The older hunter told them, they nodded and headed out the door. Getting ready to get the impala, Sam was stopped by Tanner.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tanner asked in an out of breath voice. Sam noticed that she just got finished jogging.

"Caught a case."

"Oh, well, next time you come back...I'll try my best to be here."

"Wait...don't you start school soon?"

"Yes, but my orbing powers are coming in, and once I master them...I'll be able to see you more than you think. So, go, have a safe hunt." Tanner said with a grin. Sam then pulled her in for a passionate kiss before getting in the impala.

"Ah, young love." Dean said with a smirk as he started the impala.

"Just shut up and drive." Sam said in an amusing way.

Now in Ohio, the Winchester trio, were inside a church. Dean and Sam was in their suits, while Shia wore her pencil skirt and white dress shirt.

"There's not much left for the insurance company. It was a suicide - I saw it myself." The head priest of the church said.

"Well,this shouldn't take long, then." Dean told him.

"That's where Andy did it. It's the first time I'd seen him in weeks. He used to come every Sunday." The man said with a sigh.

"When did he stop?" Sam asked. Shia didn't know why but she started to feel this raw feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Something is not right, here.' Shia thought to herself trying to stay focus.

"Probably about ... two months ago? Right around the time everything else started to change." The head priest said honestly.

"Change how?" Shia asked him, speaking up for the first time.

"Oh, let's just say this used to be a town ... you could be proud of. People ... cared about each other. Andy sang in the choir, and then one day, he just ... wasn't Andy anymore. It was like he was ..."

"Possessed?" Sam asked carefully but quickly.

"You could say that. Gambled away his money, cheated on his wife, destroyed his business. Yes, like a switch had flipped."

"Father Gil, did you know the man who killed those folks in the hobby shop?" Sam asked.

"Sure, Tony Perkins." Father Gil told him.

"Tony Perkins." Sam repeated.

"Good man."

"Would you say that his personality suddenly changed one day, too?" Shia asked. Father Gil looked at her as he spoke and she felt so uneasy that she was about vomit all over him. 'Something ain't right.'

"I never thought about it that way, but... yes. about the same time as Andy — about two months ago." Father Gil said.

"Well, thank you, Father. Appreciate your time." Dean said as the trio started to leave.

"Two months ago, we open up the devil's gate, all of a sudden this town turns into Margaritaville? It's no coincidence." Sam whispered to Shia and Dean as they made their way out if the church.

Winchester trio was now entering their motel room, Dean chuckled at the mirrors on the ceiling as soon as he opened the door.

"Babe, I'm going to the restroom." Shia whispered to Dean as she walked past him. As soon as she left, the room in front of them door opened.

"Richie." Dean said as the other guy looked up. "I don't believe it."

"Hey, Dean... Winchester, right?" The guy, Richie, said with his Italian accent more of a jersey type, maybe.

"Yeah." Dean said, just then a tall scantily dressed girl appeared from Richie's room.

"This is my sister, uh, Cheryl." Richie said.

"Hey." She said to Dean very seductively.

"Cheryl." Dean greeted her with a smug look.

"There." Richie said as he handed the girl money, as Cheryl left, Richie turned to Sam and Dean. "Well, you know... stepsister." Just then Shia came out the bathroom with her hair in a ponytail. Richie took one look at her and smirked slightly.

"Come on in. This is my brother, Sam. And my girl, Shia." Dean introduced them as he pulled Shia close to him by her waist. Shia smiled at him.

"Hey. How you doing?" Richie said to Sam.

"Not too bad." Sam said slightly amused. Richie then turned to Shia with a smug look.

"Hey, beautiful lady, how are you?" He said as he grabbed Shia's hand and kissed it, making her blush deeply. Dean rolled his eyes and glared at the short, dark-haired guy.

"I'm okay. So, uh, how do you and Dean know each other?" Shia asked.

"Sam was in school, and you were with Bobby that week." Dean told Shia and Sam as they nodded at him.

"It was that succubus, in Canarsie right?" Richie asked as he tried to remember.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Oh, man. You should have seen the rack on this broad. Freakin' tragedy when I had to gank her." Richie said with amusement.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait. Who killed her? If I remember, your ass was toast until I showed up." Dean corrected him. Shia grinned at both of the men as they talked about their old memories together.

"Oh, I forgot what a comedian this guy was." Richie said pointing at Dean.

"Richie, Richie, know what? I told you then and I'll tell you again — you're not cut out for this job. You're gonna get yourself killed." Richie rolled his eyes at Dean's word as his phone began to ring.

"Talk to me." Richie said to the caller and turned to Dean, "FYI, Winchester — words hurt." "Yeah? No, it's not a good time, babe. Later."

"So you find anything in this town, anyway?" Dean asked the fellow hunter.

"Ah, no. I got nothing.  
Oh, wait a minute. You mean as in demons and whatnot?"

"Yeah."

"No, I got nothing."

"Typical. What about your sister back there?" Dean asked as Shia snuggled close to him in his arms.

"Oh, honestly? She definitely had the devil in her, but she wasn't no demon, you know what I'm saying?" Richie tried to make a joke. Shia didn't get wind of it but it seems that the Winchester brothers did. Dean glared at Richie with an unamused expression. "Right. Seriously.  
Church guy, hobby-shop guy — they were lunch meat by the time I got there. Hey maybe they were possessed, but I can't prove it."

"Yeah, that's where we are, too. You know, let's just say that demons are possessing people in this town. You know, raising hell—" Sam was saying but Dean cut him short.

"Yeah, but why would a demon blow his brains out?" Dean asked with a grunt.

"Well, for fun? You know he wrecks one body, moves to another. You know, like taking a stolen car for a joyride." Richie said and Shia agreed with his explanation. 'Maybe he's not that bad of a hunter.'

"Anybody else left in the town that fits the profile — you know, nice guy turned douche, still breathing?" Dean said.

"There's Trotter."

"Who's that?" Shia asked as she turned to the shorter hunter.

"Well, pretty lady, he used to be head of the Rotary Club. And then people say he turned bastard all of a sudden? Brought in the gambling, the hookers. ... Ah, he practically owns this whole town." Richie told before winking at her. Dean, again, glared at him. Shia turned to Dean and smiled, kissing his neck to let him know that she's just all his.

"Know where we could find him?" Sam asked.

"Oh, he'll be at his bar in a few hours." Richie informed the three hunters. Shia nodded and said, "See ya there."

"Nice guy." Sam said after Richie left the room. Dean grunted as Shia grinned at him.

The song, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Run Through the Jungle" was playing as Sam, Shia and Dean pulled up in the Impala. The town in buzzing, it looked like Mardi Gras — people wandering around with cocktails, sexy girls, lots of action.

"I thought you said this was some boarded-up factory town." Dean said taking a hold if Shia's hand and looking around the scene in front of him.

"It is. At least, it's supposed to be." Sam told his brother with a shrug. Shia let go of Dean's had and crossed her arms. 'I'm already hating this case.' Shia thought seeing all the miniskirts and short dresses on fairly attractive women.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do some research." Dean said. Shia rolled her eyes as Dean looked excited to follow a bunch of attractive women. From a car, a woman in a miniskirt watched him, then gestured for him to come. Dean approached the car and looked at her, smiling, Shia came back to fetch Dean, grabbing him by the ear, and glared at the woman as she pulled Dean away.

Loud music continued to play as Sam, Shia and Dean thread their way through a crowded bar. People were drinking and dancing and seem to be having a good time. Dean was at ease, moving through the crowd like he's trying to pick out the best action. Sam was getting bumped into and seemed to feel a little awkward and overstimulated, and Shia...well...she was all round uncomfortable as she held on to Dean's arm.

Richie brushed past a woman and approached Sam, Dean, and Shia. He was wearing a somewhat shiny orange short-sleeved shirt halfway unbuttoned to reveal a white t-shirt underneath.

"Oh, Richie. Look at you." Dean said with a teasing grin.

"Hey." Richie greeted them as him and Dean shake hands.

"Bringing satin back." Dean commented.

"Oh, you like this? Try Thai silk — Canal Street.  
You'd have to pay $300 for threads like these, easy. Cost to me — fuggedaboutit." Richie said slightly arrogant.

"How much is "forget about it"?" Shia asked as she smiled at the cheesy guy.

"Ah, forget about it, sweetheart. That's Trotter over there. He sits there all night. Can't touch him." Richie told them.

"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked the hunters that were around him.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna do a little investigating with that bartender." Dean said as he looked to see a fairly attractive woman with dark hair. Shia looked at Dean and shook her head, there was no point in being mad at him...Dean Winchester will always continue to flirt, but at the end of the day...who's lying in the same bed with him? Shia Winchester, his wife.

"Easy. Me and her, we got a little ... somethin'-somethin' lined up for later." Richie said after he noticed Shia's slight discomfort from Dean suggesting to go flirt with the bartender.

"Yeah, right." Dean said in an unbelieving tone.

"Stings, don't it? All right. I got to hit the head, release the hostages. Be back in a few." Richie teased before leaving for the other side of the room. Sam laughed at Richie's general cheesiness.

"No way he gets a girl like that. I mean, look at her. You could fit that ass on a nickel." Dean said as he walked over the bar. Shia hit his shoulder and rolled her eyes at him.

"You think so?" Father Gil asked as he sat at the bar. Shia raised her eyebrow suspiciously. 'Now, what the hell is he doing here?'

"Oh." Dean said, then he noticed who was talking and laughed. "Sorry, Padre."

"Knew you all would find your way here. They all do."

"No offense, but what are you doing here, Father?" Shia asked crossing her arms, she didn't mean to but her words came out slightly bitter and sassy like. There was something about him that she didn't like, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Like it or not, you go where your flock is." Father Gil explained, he wasn't paying attention to Shia's attitude. Just then the bartender poured him a drink.

"Plus, the clergy drinks for free." The bartender said as she poured the drink. There was something off about her too.

"True, and a certain bartender owes me a confession."

"Not in this lifetime, Father." The girl said with a almost unnoticed wink she sent him. 'Gross. Are they...flirting?' Shia thought as she almost cringed at her thought.

"I better see your butt on Sunday." The father said then he looked at Dean as he left the seat. "Nickel or no nickel."

"What can I get you all?" The bartender kindly asked.

"What's your speciality?" Dean asked smugly.

"I make a mean hurricane." The bartender said flirting with Dean.

"I guess we'll see about that." Dean said with a wink.

"You drink hurricanes?" Sam asked his brother, laughing at him, obviously not catching on to the flirting.

"I do now." Dean said staring at the bartenders ass. Shia saw his gaze and felt like she was about to explode.

"Uh, look, guys..I'm going to wait outside." Shia told them but before walking off, Dean grabbed her arm. Shia rolled her eyes but looked back at him. "What?"

"I'm doing this for the case." Dean whispered in her ear.

"Well, you're a damn good actor." Shia mumbled in his ear. Dean chuckled but quickly kissed Shia on her forehead before turning back at the bar.

At the pool table is where trouble really began, a man entered the room.

"Hi, John." The man said tonelessly and emotionlessly.

"Reggie. Everything okay with you?" John asked out of concern.

"I don't know. I'm just not feeling myself today." The man, Reggie, said as he pulled out his gun.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" The Winchester trio heard someone say in the distance, Sam turned around a spotted that Reggie had a gun. Sam hit Dean's shoulder quickly and gestured towards Reggie.

"Oh, this is bad." Shia mumbled as Reggie raised his gun and shot John point-blank in the forehead, the crowd erupted in chaos. The bald man, Trotter, and his henchguy stood up. Reggie then aimed the gun at his own head, but Dean tackled him to the ground. Sam surreptitiously splashed holy water on him. Reggie seemed really surprised and outraged by being splashed with water, but there was no sizzle.

"What are you doing?! He slept with my wife. That bastard slept with my wife!" Reggie said to them, but was talking mostly to himself.

"Somebody call 911!" Sam said as he exchanged a look with Trotter. Shia quickly called the police for help and about five minutes later they were on the scene. The police cuffed Reggie and led him away.

"Too many cops here. I say we roll." Sam advised his older brother and sister in law.

"Just be cool." Dean told him looking around the bar.

"Yeah, if we leave now we'll be suspects." Shia said in agreement with Dean.

"Poor jerk. Only thing possessing him was a sixer of Pabst." Dean said as he watched the cops lead Reggie out the bar door.

"So, what's the deal, then? People in this town getting possessed or not?" Sam asked in a hushed voice not to cause a crowd of people to think them insane for talking about possession of demons.

"I don't know. Maybe it is just what it is — town full of scumbags." Dean said with a thoughtful look.

"Yeah. Maybe."

"I'd say unlikely." Shia mumbled as she started to feel uneasy again.

"You kids ready for your mug shots?" The police officer said with a serious look. Sam and Dean looked nervous while Shia raised her eyebrow in disbelief and the cop hastened to reassure them. "The photographer's gonna be here in a few, and ... take your picture for the local paper."

"Be an honor! What a thrill!" Dean said relieved and with faux enthusiasm.

"Yep, time to go." Sam said standing up from his seat and Shia standing up with him.

"Wait a second. Wait a second." Dean said as he looked around again, getting almost serious.

"What?" Sam and Shia said in unison getting a bit worried.

"Where's Richie?" Dean asked them. Shia shrugged and then remembered something from earlier.

"Me and her got a little something - something set up for later." Shia mumbled looking around as well.

"What, babe?" Dean asked.

"Nothing." Shia said dismissively.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Dean sat at a table, a large burger in front of him. He hung up his cell phone, looking at it speculatively as if he was just trying to reach someone. Sam was at the bar getting drinks, beers for him and orange juice for Shia. Shia was seated beside Dean, but she was in her phone texting her brother, Micheal, about Lynx.

"Thanks." Sam said to the barman as he made his way back to the table with the drinks, he looked at Dean in an amused but confused way. "You do realize there's red meat within striking distance, right?"

"How many times I got to tell Richie, he's gonna get himself in trouble?" Dean said as he shook his head in a worried way. Shia then put up her phone and looked at Dean, she reached over a started to rub his back.

"Babe, I'm sure he's fine." Shia told him.

"Yeah, Dean, you're assuming he's missing. I mean, maybe he just bailed." Sam said coming to an unlikely conclusion.

"He's a moron." Dean said but took one look at Shia's unamused face and continued. "I mean, he's a sweet moron, but he's not a coward. He wouldn't just bail. I got to go find him."

"Alright. Meanwhile I think I'm gonna trail this Trotter guy." Sam said pushing his beer from him.

"I'll go with Sam." Shia said after taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Yeah?" Dean asked the both of them and Shia nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know. Something about the way he looked at me last night.  
Maybe there is something going on here." Sam said getting up from his seat and making his way out if the bar along with Shia.

Sam and Shia was in a corridor outside Trotter's office, where Trotter was talking with his henchman. Sam's phone ringed, startling him and Shia. Shia gave Sam a bitch face for not putting his phone on vibrate.

"Dean." Sam said in a hushed voice. Shia raised her eyebrow. 'Dean knew better than to call right now.'

"Sammy." Dean said in a hush voice also.

"Yeah. Hey. I can't talk right now." Sam told him as he tried to be as quiet as possible.

"You okay? My girl okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. She's fine. Just, uh ... meet us at the bar in 20 minutes, okay?" Sam quickly told Dean as he hung up. The henchman came out of Trotter's office and looked around for a moment, but Sam and Shia was nowhere to be seen. Trotter and his henchman walk out of Trotter's office. Sam and Shia watched for a second from the hallway, then headed into the office. Sam started rifling through the desk, looking at calendar, keys. While Shia was looking everywhere in the office ... Suddenly the henchman was there, taking a swing at Sam. Sam punched him hard, repeatedly, when he feels a gun to his neck. Shia wanted to do something so badly but decided against it, she wanted to make sure they weren't human first.

"What are you doing here?" Trotter asked Sam and then looked at Shia. "Hey, bitch, come stand over here." Shia wanted to punch him a thousand times but did what she was told and stood near Sam.

"I think maybe you know." Sam said darkly as he smarted off to Trotter.

"Yeah? Well, I think I'm calling the cops!" Trotter told him. Shia placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. 'Cops?'

"Cops?" Sam asked seeming surprised.

"Breaking and entering, assault — you're in a peck of trouble, my friend. You too, bitch." Trotter said to Sam and Shia.

"Uh, wh-, uh ... I think I could probably explain it—" Sam suddenly twisted around, grabbed the gun from Trotter, and pointed it at both men. "Alright, back up! Get back." Shia stayed behind Sam as he held the gun pointed at the two men.

"Money's in the safe! Take it and go." Trotter told the two. Shia was confused to why this supposedly 'demon' was such a wimp. Sam looked back at Shia to see her just as confused as him.

"I don't want your money. I just got to be sure." Sam said as he splashed both men with holy water. They flinched and sputtered from the sudden spritz of cold water, and looked outraged, but nothing else happens.

"What kind of psychos are you two?" Trotter asked as he wiped the holy water out of his face.

"Oh, god. Uh ... I'm sorry." Sam said, he looked back Shia and she shrugged, not knowing what to say or do. "Heh ... I ... think this was just a minor misunderstanding? Yeah, okay, ummm ... How 'bout we just ... We just leave, 'cause ..." Sam then took the bullets out the gun. "I'll take these.  
Okay, we'll, uh, we'll leave this for, uh ... you, uh ... Have a nice day?" Sam grabbed Shia's hand and turned, walking rapidly out of the office, grimacing in embarrassment, and leaving Trotter and his henchman staring in bewilderment.

"Nice demon judgement skills, Sam." Shia mused as they make their way to the bar. Sam gave her an unamused look as he let go of her hand.

In the bar, where Shia and Sam sat, a prostitute who tried to pick up Dean earlier sat at the bar, smiling at Sam.

"You look kind of tense." She said to him with a wide smile, Shia rolled her eyes and ordered another drink or orange juice, Sam looked around to see if she was talking to him. "You know, I know a surefire way to relax."

"Maybe later." Sam told her, he then turned back to the bartender. "Excuse me. Hi."

"What can I get for you?" The man asked as he cleaned some glasses.

"Um, you remember the guy I was with last night? We sat right here. Umm..."

"...The big hero who jumped on Reggie."

"Yeah, yeah. The — the big hero. Right. Um, have you seen him around, maybe?" Shia asked after she took a sip from her drink.

"Maybe. Depends." He said as he looked at both Sam and Shia.

"Depends on what?" Sam asked, the bartender raised an eyebrow. Sam didn't catch on, but Shia did.

"Sam, pay the man." Shia hissed at him.

"Oh my — ! Does everyone around here have their hand out?" Sam said as he sighed, and pulled out some money and handed it to the barman.

"He left with Casey about an hour ago." The bartender told them honestly. Sam nodded and glanced at Shia, he noticed that she was a little tense when she heard where Dean had taken off to.

"You know where they went?" Shia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope." The bartender said as he went back to cleaning a glass, Shia rolled her eyes and grabbed the guy by his shirt. The guy was shock by how strong she was. "Uh, her place. Bible study."

"All right, you got an address?" Sam asked as he placed a hand on Shia's shoulder making let the man go.

"What's wrong with you? You think I'm gonna give you a co-worker's address, just so you can go over there and get your freaky peeping-tom rocks off?" The bartender smarted off at both Sam and Shia. Shia stared at him and flashed her powerful eyes, which scared the guy. "Corner of Piermont and Clinton. Have fun." The man said nervously. Sam sighed and grabbed Shia's hand again. The prostitute licked a cherry lasciviously as Sam and Shia walked around her, avoiding her gaze.

Later, at the Casey residence, Sam knocked on the door, it swung open and Sam and Shia looked at it but decided to go through it anyway.

"Dean?" Sam asked out.

"Dean?" Shia said as she looked around.

"Are you mad?" Sam asked the demi god as he continued to search the house. Shia paused for a moment to look at him.

"And why would I be mad?" Shia asked placing a hand on her hip.

"I don't know. I mean, do you trust Dean?" Sam asked as he turned to glance at her. Shia sighed and went back to her search.

"I trust Dean, I just don't trust that damn demon." Shia said. Sam stopped at her words and turned around.

"Demon?"

"Yeah, see." Shia said as she showed Sam the yellow powder she found behind a picture.

"Sulfur."

Sam and Shia found themselves in the bar yet again. Sam was on the phone with Bobby...,well Bobby's voice message system, as they entered the building.

"Bobby, It's Sam. We got a big problem. Shia found some sulfur, and now we can't find Dean. Call me as soon as you get this." Sam said as he hung up, Sam and Shia made their way the the bar. "Hey, excuse me. Um, they weren't there."

"I guess you got to catch your jollies another night. Here. Why don't you have a drink ... and relax?" The bartender said only looking at Sam, and not towards Shia. It was obvious that he showed her some type of fear, Shia couldn't blame the guy.

"Yeah, I don't _want_ to relax! What is it with the people in this town?" Sam said with slight frustration.

"Suit yourself — princess." The bartender said as Sam turned around to look in the crowd, the guy could feel Shia stating at him so he looked at her to which she flashed her powerful eyes once more before turning around to look upon the crowd with Sam. The Barman took the shot he had poured for Sam. Sam saw father Gil sitting at a booth in the bar and approached him. Before Shia could have an opinion, Sam was already to go over there.

"Father." Sam said in a greeting way, Shia only nodded towards the man.

"Yes?" He asked almost innocently.

"Um... can I, can we talk to you for a sec?" Sam asked motioning towards him and Sam. "So, the, the bartender the other night, Casey. You know her pretty well?"

"Since she was in pigtails." The father said as he nodded at his own memory.

"Well, um, she and my brother, they, uh..." Sam said but paused, he was thinking about to say this to the father and how to put it in words that wouldn't make Shia upset. "they... left tonight. Together." Shia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Ah. Well ... not that I approve, but they are consenting adults."

"Right, adults." Shia mumbled half heartily.

"I, I'm sorry, but you said "brother." I thought the two of you were insurance investigators?" The father said to Sam.

"Right, right. Well, well we are. Um, it's like, it's like a family business, you know?" Sam countered, but Shia could tell that he was getting a little nervous.

"Ah."

"Anyways, um, so, so, we went to Casey's apartment, and they weren't there. I, we, just have this feeling that they ... that they might be in trouble." Sam said trying to put everything into words.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Just ... trouble. Look, please, Father, I, we need your help. Is there anything you could tell me about Casey — anyplace she'd go, maybe ...?"

"Yes, there is a place. Let me get my jacket."

"No, wait, wait, wait, Father. We can do this by ourselves." Sam tried stopping the father from going, Shia just stood there arms crossed.

"Son, if Casey's really in trouble, then there's nothing to talk about." The father said as he stood up and put on his coat, making sure he was turned away from Shia and Sam to flash his demon, black eyes. Just then, Shia felt this wave in her stomach. "Shall we go?"

Sam and Shia were now in the green station wagon with Father Gil driving, Sam in the passenger seat and Shia the backseat with a slight frown and crossed arms. "So, insurance investigating. You enjoy the work?" Father Gil said as he drove, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I ... like being able to help people." Sam said as he looked out the window.

"Ever think about doing anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Mmm, anything. You seem like a pretty smart kid. Somehow I see you out in front of the pack." The father said but then paused. "You could do some great things." Shia frowned a little. 'What the hell is he hinting at?' Shia thought to herself.

"I don't know. I like doing what I'm doing, I guess."

"Well, it's your life. Does, um ... Dean?"

"Yeah, Dean."

"Does he find trouble often?" The father asked Sam.

"Yeah. Yeah, Dean finds his fair share." Sam said with a small chuckle.

"Well, it's a good thing he has you — his brother's keeper." The father said, again hinting at something. Father Gil then looked in his rearview mirror to see Shia stating at him.

"You're married?" He asked her. Shia shifted uncomfortably, but nodded yes.

"Yeah, we've been married for a month, me and my husband."

"Do you get to see him often since you travel a lot?"

"Uh, yeah. I do." Shia said as she ended the conversation.

They all finally arrived at Casey's parents home. Father Gil's station wagon pulled up in front of Casey's home. Father Gil, Shia and Sam got out of the car and started walking toward the home.

"Dean?!" Sam called out.

"Dean?!" Shia called out right after Sam.

Dean heard his brother and wife, so he looked up. "Looks like you win." Casey said with a disappointed smirk. Pounding on the upstairs door was heard.

"Dean!" Sam and Shia called out as they pounded on the front door. Sam turned to Father Gil and said, "Check that way." Sam walked off in the other direction around the house.

"Sam! Shia!" Dean called out loudly enough for the two could hear him.

"Dean?" Shia and Sam said in unison as they looked at each other.

"Sammy, Shia, babe down here! The basement caved in!"

"Dean. Hey, hold on, okay? The three of us are coming." Sam said as he leaned over on the crate where he could see Dean. Shia stood back a kept looking around.

"Who's three?" Dean asked.

"Me and Shia are here with the Father." Sam told him. Dean glanced back to Casey, whose lips part — with excitement? It's hard to read her exactly. Dean turned back to his brother.

"Sammy and babe, be careful." Shia went beside Sam to get a good look at Dean, making sure he was okay. They both turned to see Father Gil going black-eyed.

"Oh shit." Shia mumbled as she got ready to use her powers. A shot was fired just past Father Gil's head, destroying a small statute. Father Gil whipped around to see Bobby, and then used his powers to fling him aside. He then threw Sam into the windscreen of the Impala. Shia pushed the father back with her powers, he got up and smirked at her.  
"Oh shit." Shia said again just before the father hit her with full force sending her to hit her head, hard. Father Gil left, and blew off the door of Casey's home, entering it.

Sam, groaning, rolled off the hood of the car and rushed to where Bobby laid on the ground. Shia then got up rubbing her head. "I'm going to kill that demon." Shia said to herself before she went over to where Sam was standing over Bobby.

"Daddy, you okay?" Shia asked the old, grumpy hunter. Bobby looked up at her and nodded before answering her.

"Yeah."

"How did you know where we—" Sam asked before Bobby handed Sam the rebuilt Colt.

"Go!"

"You heard the man. Go." Ruby, the demon, said suddenly appearing. Shia looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and her 'Who the fuck are you?' look.

"Who the hell are you?" Shia asked the blond woman in front of her.

"Ruby."

"Oh, that demon bitch." Shia said nodding in realization.

"And you're that demi god bitch." Ruby said as a counter, Shia smirked at little before following Sam in the house.

Inside the basement a loud, forceful bang shove the stones aside. Dean looked nervously toward Casey who seemed anticipatory. Father Gil smashed in through the cave-in. Dean rushed him. Father Gil pointed a finger and Dean went flying backwards. Casey looked at Father Gil, who approached her.

"Stop!" Casey said as she tried to warn the demon, she pointed to the devil's trap. Father Gil kneeled, and slammed his fist down, cracking the floor and breaking the devil's trap. They stepped out of the circle, and they embrace and kissing passionately. Dean struggled to his feet, and gestured to the two of them, looking revolted.

"You two?" Dean asked slightly confused, yet, disgusted.

"For centuries. We've been to hell and back, literally." Father Gil said with a slight smirk.

"Leave him be." Casey told her demon lover but instead, Father Gil grabbed Dean by the throat and lifted him up.  
"Don't kill him. Let's just go. Please."  
Sam then appeared and shot Father Gil with the Colt. Lightning emits from and circles Father Gil, who twitched and died. Sam then pointed the gun at Casey.

"Sam, wait!" Dean tried to stop him, but Sam shot her, and the bodies of Casey and Father Gil, no longer possessed, lying dead on the devil's trap. Dean stared at his brother as he slowly lowered the Colt, and the bodies bled out. Moments later came running into the room, she noticed the bodies at rolled her eyes. Shia looked at Sam before she smacked his arm.

"Ow." Sam said rubbing his arm.

"You were supposed to wait on me." Shia said with hands on her hips as she pouted slightly.

It was day out now, and nothing much seemed to have changed in the town since the demons were killed. 'Maybe this town is just messed up.' Shia thought. Bobby, Shia and Dean were walking outside on a busy sidewalk.

"Well, what do you think, Bobby?" Dean asked as he intertwined his hand with Shia's. "About what we did here, you think it made a difference?"

"Two less demons to worry about. That's not nothing." Bobby said with a slight grunt.

"Yeah, but Trotter's still alive." Dean said.

"Humans are not our job, babe." Shia told Dean as rubbed his arm with her free hand.

"She's right." Bobby agreed with his daughter.

"Yeah, but you think anything's really gonna change? I mean maybe these people do just want to really destroy themselves. Maybe it is ... a losing battle." Dean said as he shook his head slightly.

"Is that you or the demon bitch talking?" Shia asked almost bitterly. Dean tightened the grip on Shia's hand slightly telling her to calm down.  
"Ohhhh, it's me. Demon is dead, and so is that girl it was possessing."

"Well, had to be done. Sam was saving your life." Bobby said with a sigh.

"Daddy's right, Dean." Shia said.

"Yeah, but you guys didn't see it, Bobby. It was cold." Dean said before he stopped and turned for a face-to-face with Bobby. "Bobby."

"Yeah?"

"Back in Wyoming, uh, there was this moment. Yellow Eyes said something to me."

"What'd he say?" Bobby and Shia asked in unison.

"That maybe when ... Sam came back from well wherever, ... that maybe he came back different."

"Different how?" Once again, Bobby and Shia asked together.

"Okay, you two have got to stop doing that. And, I don't know. Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. You think ... think something's wrong with my brother?" Dean asked with full concern.

"No. Demons lie. I'm sure Sam's okay." Bobby said after he posed briefly.

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Dean said looking down. They began to walk again but Shia stopped them.

"Hey, Dean?" Shia said.

"Yeah, babe?" Dean said as her turned to her, the way Shia was looking Bobby just knew what was coming next. Shia smacked Dean's arm. "Ow, what the hell was that for?"

"That was for going out on your own and had me completely worried about you." Shia said with both hands on her hips. Dean shook his head before he leaned in and kissed his wife passionately. Bobby then rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Okay. That's enough." Bobby mumbled as he walked past the loving couple. Dean and Shia pulled away from each other each wide smiles.

"I love you." Dean told his wife.

"I love you too." Shia said with as giggle as Dean grabbed her ass. "Why are you being so frisky?"

"Please stop before I shoot you." Bobby said as he turned around to see Dean grab his daughter's ass. Dean then straitened up and grabbed Shia's hand again and kept on walking. Shia leaned up to whisper in his ear "Later."

~Yay! I finished this chapter! I'm so sorry if it was boring, this episode was one if my least favorites. Anyway, don't forget to comment what you think, I love it when you do. Also, tell me how season three is going so far for you guys as the readers. Thanks. :) Wait. How many of you miss Lynx on a case? :(~


	36. Chapter 36: Bedtime Stories (3x05)

Bedtime Stories (3x05)

~October 25, 2007~

There was crickets chirping, a bullfrog sat on the highway, croaking. Dean's Impala raced along. It hit a puddle spraying water as the frog hopped out of the way, just in time.

"I don't understand, Dean. Why not?" Sam said angrily as he argued with his brother.

"Because I said so." Dean said calmly but sternly.

"We got the Colt now!" Sam said.

"Sam..." Dean said warningly, he hated it when Sam would try talking him into finding a way to break his demon deal.

"We can summon the Crossroads Demon,…" They shouted over each other's words, getting louder each time.

"We're not summoning anything."

"...pull the gun on her, and force her to let you out of the deal!" Sam told his brother as he tried coming up with a plan.

"We don't even know if that'll work!" Dean said.

"Well then we'll just shoot her! If she dies then the deal goes away!"

"We don't know if that'll work either, Sam! All you're pitching me right now is a bunch of "ifs" and "maybes" and that's not good enough, because if we screw with this deal, you die!"

"And if we don't screw with it, you die! You won't be here to see your kid grow up!"

"Sam, enough! I am not going to have this conversation." Dean said getting really irritated with his little brother.

"Why, because you said so?" Sam challenged.

"YES, BECAUSE I SAID SO!" Dean shouted and right then Lynx, who was in the backseat asleep along with her mom started screaming because she was woken up by Dean's shouting. "Crap." Shia woke up as soon as she heard the baby cry, she reached over to care for her baby. The child calmed down almost instantly under her mother's touch. Shia looked up and glared at the two men.

"Really? You two were fighting again, huh? Well, you know how hard it is to get a 10 week old to sleep? Very hard!" Shia whispered but you could hear irritation in her voice. Dean was listening to her but Sam decided to ignore her.

"Well you're not Dad!" Sam said in his almost normal tone, but it came out as almost a whisper. Shia sighed and sat back still caring for her daughter. Sam and Dean silently stared at each other.

"No, but I am the oldest." Dean said fiercely, he then raised his voice a little. "And I'm doing what's best. And you're going to let this go, you understand me?" Sam and Dean stared at each other angrily. Sam turned away and looked out the window. He looked angry but doesn't saying anything. Dean then looked in the rearview mirror to see Shia staring at him sympathetically. "How's my chunky monkey back there?"

"She's fine, she's just staring at her hands, again." Shia told Dean and he nodded, Shia then motioned for Dean to talk to Sam. Dean rolled his eyes but did what she wanted.

"Tell me about the psychotic killer. C'mon, Sam, tell me about the psychotic killer." Dean said as he looked from the road to Sam. Sam grabbed a paper from his lap and read monotonously.

"Psychotic killer… rips victims apart with brute-like ferocity."

"Any mention of his razor sharp teeth or his creature like claws? Animal eyes?" Shia asked as she suddenly got interested in the case.

"No. But the lunar cycle's right. Look, if it is a werewolf we don't have long, moon's full this Friday and that's the last time it changes for a month."

"Two days, no sweat." Dean said as he increased the speed of the impala slightly. Dean looked in his rearview mirror again and sighed. "Where should we drop her off, babe?"

"She's coming with us." Shia told him as she stared down at her little baby. Dean and Sam raised their eyebrow.

"She is?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I mean, Halloween is coming up and I don't want to miss her first Halloween. I got her a costume and everything, we're going trick or treating." Shia told them as she sat back in her seat.

"Trick or treating? She can't eat candy yet." Dean said as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Who says the candy was for her? We three will be eating chocolate all night." Shia said as she chuckled slightly along with Sam and Dean.

~October 27, 2007~

Two days later, Sam, Dean, Shia, and baby Winchester was now where they needed to be. So, instead of going straight into the case, they were going to get sleep first and start in the morning. Sam went into the shower first, leaving Dean and Shia with a fussy Lynx.

"She's been doing this a lot. Is that normal?" Dean asked full of concern for his child as he held her close to him. Shia was currently shaking up a baby bottle when she nodded her head.

"Yeah, it's pretty normal, I mean she is a baby, so, she'll cry a lot." Shia told him as she made her way over to Dean, giving the bottle to him. "Here, that's what she wanted. It's around that time to feed her anyways."

"She's so beautiful." Dean said as he watched his baby drink from her bottle.

"Yeah, she looks just like her daddy. Guess you wanted that, huh?" Shia said with a small chuckle. Dean shook his and looked into Shia's eyes.

"When I found out you were pregnant, the only thing I wanted our child to have was my last name and your looks."

"Dean, you—you never told me that." Shia said with wide smile as she looked from Lynx to Dean in awe. "That's so sweet."

"Uh, thanks. I'm not one for being sweet."

"You are so getting soft on me, Winchester." Shia said to him before kissing his lips softly. The kiss didn't last long but Dean wished it did, after every kiss he would miss her lips against his. Moments later Sam came out of the bathroom with his boxers and T shirt. Shia then grabbed her things and made her way into the bathroom for a shower. Dean watched her go in, he then walked up to Sam and handed him Lynx, to which he gladly accept. Dean grabbed his things and made his way to the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked as he continued to feed Lynx the rest of her small bottle.

"Going to take a shower with my wife." Dean said with a wink. Sam rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed. "Oh, and don't forget when you burp her to wear a towel on your shoulder, she likes to spit up a lot now."

(Warning: Sexual Content. If you are not comfortable, please, skip down until you see a sign.)

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Dean walked into the bathroom, he saw that Shia had her clothes thrown to the side, as he striped out of his clothing he could feel the steam from the shower hit his skin.

"Hey, babe?" Dean called out to Shia. Shia opened the shower to see Dean fully naked, she scan his body gracefully and bit her lips. Shia could never get tired of seeing his body. "Can I join you?" Dean asked as he gave her one of his famous Winchester smirks.

"Yeah, come on in." Shia said as she went back to her showering trying to ignore the fact that Dean pressed up against her and his hands roaming her body with his lips tracing the water on her skin. Dean led his hands to grab her breast, her nipples were already harden from the water but Dean's touch had an effect on her, Shia moaned softly. "Dean..."

"I love it when you say my name, baby." He whispered in her ear with his deep voice. Shia knew what he wanted and she was more than willing to give it to him. Shia turned around and kissed him hard but passionately on the lips, in the moment of kissing Dean reached down and grabbed her ass, only making her moan once more. Dean then moved both of his hands around her thighs motioning for her to jump, and she did, with her legs wrapped around his waist Shia kissed him deeply.

"I need you." Shia moaned as the continued to kiss. "Please." Dean pressed her against the shower wall and slowly entered inside of her, he moaned as he felt how tight she was even after having a baby. Dean waited for Shia to adjust to his size before he moved forward, he knew just how to make her feel, slow but hard is how she liked and that's how intended to give it to her.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

~October 28, 2007~

That night was beautiful and quiet, it was one of those nights where Lynx was well rested and didn't bother mommy, daddy, or uncle Sammy at all. The morning came soon enough and it was time to start the case.

"Okay, who's on baby duty?" Dean asked as he got up to find his suit and tie.

"Well, obviously, it's either me or Sam since you are already trying to get dressed." Shia said with a playful eye roll. Dean smiles at her and softly placed a kiss on her forehead. "You guys go, I'll stay here with baby Winchester."

"How about you and baby Winchester come with us but stay in the car, you guys have to get out sometime." Sam suggested as he went searching for his suit too.

"I guess we could. What do you think daddy Winchester?" Shia asked as she went over to Lynx's crib to find her sleeping peacefully. Shia smiled at the baby.

"Well, I think...I think you should come as long as you're safe and stay away from any type of danger, make sure you have the window down just a little because it can get too hot in the car and—"

"I know, Dean. I know." Shia smiled at her husband as he set "ground rules" for her and Lynx. "You're getting soft, I kind of like it." Shia then walked over to Dean and wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him softly. The kiss lasted a little long for Sam's liking.

"Guys, please, can we just get ready and go?" Sam asked as he walked in the bathroom with his suit and tie.

...

Shia and baby Lynx stood outside the hospital that Sam and Dean integrated. Lynx was not asleep but she continued to stare at her hands as she moved her fingers, Shia smiled softly at her. Lynx was learning her body parts and quickly. Dean and Sam made their way out of the hospital, they walked past Shia, she rolled her eyes and followed behind them.

"...Wait. Where's Shia? And my kid?!" Dean asked out loud as he was becoming frantic very quickly.

"Right here, Dean. Calm down." Shia said with slight amusement. Dean turned around at the sound of her voice, he walked over to her and kissed her softly. Shia smiled. Sam rolled his eyes and cleared his throat for them to carry on with the case. The Winchester family walked on the street side walk, while Dean looked at Sam's drawing.

"Boy, this is a piece of, uh, art. Really." Dean laughed at Sam's picture, he even showed Shia and she giggled. Sam snatched back the notebook from Dean with a glare.

"Yeah, like you could've done any better. So what did the Doc have to say about Kyle's brothers?" Sam asked as Shia leaned in closer to hear some things about the case.

"Not much, they were D.O.A. at the scene. He did give me the lowdown on the coroner's report." Dean told Sam, but Shia wanted to be in the case too so she spoke up.

"Lemme guess, their hearts were missing." Shia said.

"Nope." Dean said as he sighed. "But chunks of their kidneys, lungs and intestines."

"That's just gross." Sam said as he shook his head.

"Yeah, also definitely not werewolf behavior."

"So, what? Demon? Attacker could've been possessed."

"Why would a Demon stop halfway through an attack?" Shia thought out loud trying to think things through.

"I think that, uh.. Could've... Yeah, I got nothing." Sam said as he stuttered for an idea.

"Me neither." Dean said as he made his way to the impala unlocking it and getting in but end up having to get back out to help Shia put Lynx out of her scroller and into her car seat.

...

It's been a couple of hours since the hospital visit. Shia went to the bathroom to brush her hair and put it in a ponytail, Sam and Dean were in the motel room watching Lynx and discussing the case. Shia stared in the mirror and smiled as the memories of last night with Dean flooded her mind, she then reached for her bag to pull out a brush and a ponytail holder, but when she looks in the mirror once more her stomach was twice as big as it was a few minutes before. Shia lifted up her shirt to reveal an extremely pregnant belly, Shia began to cry as she felt whatever it was inside her move.

Sam and Dean heard the cries from Shia, Dean was first to stand up and look towards the bathroom door. Sam looked over at Lynx's crib to see that she was asleep. Dean walked over closer to the door and knocked.

"Baby, you alright in there?" Dean asked but the response he got was her crying even harder. Dean quickly opened the door to find his pregnant wife. Wait. PREGNANT wife? Dean was shocked to see her stomach extremely big. Sam came in a few moments after to see Shia in the same state that Dean caught her in. Sam was just as shocked as Dean was.

"Shia?" Sam asked, Shia looked up at him and cried some more.

"Well, it ain't mine." Dean said surly to Sam about Shia's pregnant stomach. Sam glared at him as he helped Shia off the floor and to the bed. Shia just pressed her hand against her big belly and cried some more. "What the hell?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's this town." Sam said as he looked at Shia once more. "Maybe it's the case."

"Well, we need to figure this out before some else happen...like another baby that we're not ready for." Dean said as he reached for his jacket and walked out the door quickly. Sam looked at Shia with sympathy and asked, "Will you be alright by yourself with Lynx?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just go find out what's happening." Shia told him with her voice breaking a little. Sam nodded and left the room.

...

Sam and Dean was now driving down a street when Sam noticed how nervous and stressed Dean looked.

"Dude, are you okay?" Sam asked his big brother.

"Honestly? No." Dean said as he tighten his grip on the stirring wheel. "I mean, seeing Shia pregnant again terrified me. We're not ready for another baby...Lynx is enough. I don't want anymore kids since I'm going to hell."

"Dean, you're not—"

"Sam, please, alright? Look, I might have looked like a bad husband but that was...that was something."

"It's probably just the case, Dean." Sam reminded his brother. "Besides, you guys haven't done anything for a while."

"Uh, the shower."

"Gross." Sam said as he had a sour face as he thought about Dean and Shia having sex in the shower. Just then an ambulance quickly passed by the impala to only have Sam and Dean look at each other, Dean turned the impala around to follow the ambulance. Hospital activity around a nurses' station. Sam and Dean, in suits, approached the station. Two Sheriff's deputies exit a patient's room. Sam and Dean hastily alter course and focused on a set of flowers on the counter. The deputies passed by. Sam and Dean turned and continued down the corridor to the room where the deputies exited. The doctor they met earlier, Dr. Garrison walked toward Sam and Dean, who were standing in the doorway.

"Detectives." Dr. Garrison greeted as he sighed.

"Dr. Garrison." Dean greeted with a nod.

"What the hell is going on here? My whole town is going insane." The doctor said in a frustrated, distressed way.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do." Sam said as he slightly shook his head. The doctor nodded before leaving the room, Sam and Dean moved into the room.

"Miss Watson? Hi. We just need to ask you a few questions." Dean said to the victim, a woman with pretty brown hair. Dean and Sam produced their badges.

"Do we have to go over this again? Now?" The woman, Miss Watson, asked. She just lost her boyfriend, Ken, and now all she wants to do is rest and try to forget today.

"We'll try to be brief. Miss Watson, can you tell us how you got away?" Sam promised and asked if she remembered anything. Julie nodded.

"I didn't eat as much as Ken did, so I wasn't as out of it. And, when the old woman was... carving up Ken, I shoved her, and she fell. Cracked her head on the stove." Julie told them but then she paused. "She's dead, right? I- I killed her?"

"Do you have any idea why she'd do this to you?" Dean asked avoiding the question all together.

"No! One minute she was a sweet old lady and the next she was, like, a monster."

"Can you remember anything else?" Sam asked.

"Um, yeah." Julie said as she sniffed. "Did you find a little girl there, by any chance?"

"A ... little girl? At the house?"

"I thought I saw her outside the window. She, she just disappeared. Just vanished, into thin air." Julie told them as she shook her head. Sam and Dean looked at each other. "It m-must've been the drugs."

"This disappearing girl — what, what'd, what did she look like?" Dean asked as he tried to wrap his around the situation.

"Does it matter?" Julie asked almost confused.

"Yes. Every detail matters." Sam said professionally.

"She had this dark, dark hair and really pale skin. She was around eight. She was a beautiful child. It was... odd to see her in the middle of something so horrible." Julie said as she sighed.

...

The Winchester brothers was now inside the old lady's house, where she tried to eat the two people.

"Well, there's no sulfur anywhere. How about the EMF?" Dean asked Sam.

"Yeah, it's going nuts. When I went over here by the window ... There's definitely a spirit here." Sam told his brother.

"Who stood outside the crime scene and watched." Dean finished his thought out loud.

"Looks like."

"What the hell do you make of that?"

"Actually I do have a theory. Uh, sort of. It could explain a lot." Sam said as he looked at Dean.

"Hit me."

"Well, thinkin' about fairy tales."

"Oh that's — that's nice. You think about fairy tales often?" Dean teased Sam.

"No, Dean, I'm talking about the murders. A guy and a girl? Hiking through the woods, an old lady tries to eat 'em? That's Hansel and Gretel.

And then we got three brothers, arguing over how to build houses, attacked by the Big Bad Wolf. And Shia, the beautiful girl who gets pregnant by her lover when it should be forbidden."

"Three Little Pigs. And...Rapunzel." Dean muttered shaking his head.

"Yeah."

"Actually those guys were a little chubby. And my girls hair is getting pretty long. Forbidden love? Really? Well, wait, I thought those things ended with, uh, everybody living happily ever after?"

"No, no. Not the originals. See the Grimm Brothers' stuff was kinda the folklore of its day, full of sex, violence, cannibalism. Now, it got sanitized over the years, turned into Disney flicks and bedtime stories." Sam informed Dean as he looked around the room once more.

"So you think the murders are uh, what? A re-enactment? That's a little crazy." Dean said as he shook his head.

"Crazy as what? Every day of our lives?" Sam said.

"Touché." Dean said with a nod, then he paused. "How's the creepy ghost girl involved?"

"Uhm ... Well, she must've been here for a reason. I'm willing to bet you top dollar she was at the construction site too."

"We gotta do research now, don't we?" Dean said, more like pouted. Sam shrugged, Dean closed his eyes. Just then Dean's phone ringed and it was Shia. Dean quickly answered.

"Hello? Babe?" Dean said into the phone.

"Please tell me you boys have a theory." Shia whined, it sounded like she was in pure pain. Dean got worried as he heard her voice.

"Yeah, we do. Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, besides the fact that my 'water' just broke." Shia hissed into the phone. Dean's eyes went wide.

"What?! Hey, Sam, what's the real ending in Rapunzel?" Dean quickly asked his brother.

"Uh, she gives birth to twins...but..." Sam started to say but realization hits him quickly.

"But what?" Dean asked with his voice full of concern.

"She dies during the process, leaving the devoted lover alone with children."

"Babe, I'll be there soon. Okay? I'm dropping Sam off at the library." Dean told his wife as he hurriedly walked to the impala.

"Just hurry!" Shia told him as she hung up. Dean and Sam got in the impala and hurried off. Dean got to the library and dropped Sam off, leaving himself to go face his wife who was in labor. Dean parked the impala in the parking lot of the motel, he quickly walked in to see Shia on the floor and he can hear Lynx crying her eyes out.

"Shia?" Dean walked over helping her up. Shia got on the bed and slapped Dean's hand.

"Don't worry about me, worry about Lynx." Shia told him as she continued to take deep breaths. Dean quickly walked over to his daughter and picked her up. "She probably needs a diaper change, she's probably hungry too. I tried to get to her but the labor pains is just too much."

"I'm so sorry, babe. I wish I could help." Dean said after lying Lynx down to get her diaper changed. Dean changed her quickly, and then got a bottle that was already laid out and fed it to her.

"It's okay. So...what's the theory?" Shia asked after she grunted from her labor pains. "God, I never thought I'd be in the position ever again."

"Well, fairytales..."

"That's sweet, Dean, really. But, what's the theory?"

"That's it."

"Fairytales?" Shia asked as her eyebrows lifted in confusion. Dean nodded as he continued to feed Lynx, she was drinking like a pro. "How do I fit into it then?"

"You're Rapunzel."

"What? No. I don't have long hair. I'm not white. And I'm certainly not a princess."

"You and I both know that ghosts do not see color. And yeah, your hair has grown, it's almost at your mid back. And yeah...you are a princess." Dean told Shia as he pulled the empty bottle out of Lynx's mouth, he then placed the baby on his shoulders and started to pat her back trying to get her to burp. Shia began to groan in pain as the contractions were getting closer. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Dean, there isn't. So, I'm going to die, huh?" Shia asked as she leaned back on the bed.

"No, no, you're not going to die. Okay? Me and Sam are trying hard to figure things out. We just can't figure out the little girl."

"Have you tried to hospital?"

"Why would we—?"

"Maybe she's not a spirit just yet. What if she's just hanging on by a thread?" Shia said as she gave him her best conclusion. Dean nodded as he heard his baby burp in his ear, she started to fuss again but Dean started to bounce her to get her settle down, then he slowly but her in the portable crib. "Go. I can handle this, Dean."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked as he looked from Shia to Lynx.

"Yeah, I'm sure. What you just did put her to sleep for another hour or so." Shia told him. Dean walked over to her and kissed her softly before leaving again.

...

Dean called Sam to only find out that he couldn't find any information but did see the little girl again at another crime scene.

"You couldn't call, Sam?" Dean said frustrated as he walked towards his brother. Sam shrugged as he tossed Dean an apple that he got from the crime scene. And walked back over to the house to help the paramedics with the girl. Dean sat on the hood of the Impala, playing with the apple. Sam approached.

"Paramedics picked up Cinderella." Sam informed Dean.

"That's good." Dean said as he continued to play with the apple.

"Yeah."

"So, how did you know something was happening?"

"I saw the pumpkin and started thinking if fairy tales like Cinderella, for example." Sam told Dean. Dean looked at Sam and then back the apple and then at Sam again.

"Dude, could you be more gay?" Dean asked as he rolled his eyes. Sam thought about it a minute, not really answering. "Don't answer that." Dean tossed the apple to Sam. "So... Little girl, shiny red apple. I'm guessing that means something to you, fairy tale boy?"

"I think it's Snow White."

"Snow White? Ah I saw that movie. Or the porn version anyway, 'cause there was this wicked Stepmother? Woo, she was wicked." Dean said with a grin.

"There is a wicked Stepmother. And she tries to kill Snow White with a poison apple."

"But the apple doesn't actually kill the girl, right?"

"No. Puts her into a deep sleep, so deep it's almost like she's dead." Sam said as he tossed the apple back to Dean. They both got into the Impala. Moments later, Sam and Dean were at the hospital.

"No, sorry. We don't have any comatose little girls." The nurse with blonde hair said as she shook her head.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"Totally. It's mostly old guys. And, well... Callie. She's been around since before I started here."

"Callie?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's so sad. And poor Dr. Garrison, he just ... won't give up on her." The nurse said with great sympathy.

"Is Callie one of his patients?"

"No. His daughter." Sam and Dean arrived at Callie Garrison's room. They stopped outside the doorway. They watched as Dr. Garrison read to Callie.

"...and the Huntsman stepped inside, and in the bed lay the Wolf. So the Huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut open the Wolf's belly." Dr. Garrison read out loud to his teenage, comatose daughter. Sam and Dean glanced at each other. Dr. Garrison noticed them. He put down the book, got up and walked to Sam and Dean.

"Detectives. Can I help you?" The doctor said after he cleared his throat, he was annoyed that they interrupted his time with his child.

"We just... heard that Callie is your daughter." Dean said as he looked from Callie to the doctor. Dean felt extremely sorry for him.

"And we wanted to say how very sorry we are." Sam said.

"Yeah, I have a daughter myself and if something like this happened to her, I wouldn't know what to do." Dean said.

"Well, uh. Thank you. If you'll excuse me." Dr. Garrison said with a nod before leaving the room and Sam and Dean following. Dean looked at his phone to see a text from Shia.

'The pains are getting closer...hurry..it's almost time.'

"Oh, heading this way? We'll walk with you. How long's Callie been like that?" Dean said as he walked side by side with the doctor.

"We don't mean to intrude. We can't possibly understand how hard it must be for you seeing her like this." Sam told him. And Dean mumbled, "I can."

"It's not easy. She's uh, been here since she was eight years old." Dr. Garrison told them.

"That's when she was poisoned?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Swallowed, uh, bleach. Never figured out how she got her hands on the bottle. My wife found her, uh, brought her to the ER here and I was on call."

"You're wife was uh, was that Callie's stepmother?" Dean asked. Dr. Garrison stopped walking and looked at Dean.

"Actually, yes. How'd you know that?"

"Lucky guess." Dean said with a shrug, he briefly looked at Sam for confirmation.

"Well, Julie was the only mother that uh, Callie ever knew. My wife passed away last year and, uh ... it's just my daughter and me now." The docter said with a pause. "She's all I've got left. Uhm, excuse me. I've gotta get back to work."

"Yeah." Dean said dismissively. Dr. Garrison walked away. Sam and Dean shared another look. "Poor guy. So, your theory is right."

"Very right." Sam said with a shake of his head. Just then a elderly victim with wolf scratches and bad wounds. Dean looked at Sam.

"What was that last story the doc was reading to Callie?"

"Uh, little red riding hood."

After interviewing the nurses, both of the Winchester brother found the next of kin. A little girl.

"Hey, you find a way to stop Callie, all right?" Dean said as he was about to make his way outside.

"What about you?" Sam asked.

"I'm gonna go stop the Big Bad Wolf." Dean said as he walked off but turned around again. "Which is the weirdest thing I've ever said." Dean walked way. Sam stared after him and shook his head.

The truth will set you free. Literally. Sam ended up convincing Dr. Garrison that Callie was a ghost and she was hurting people in the town by fairy tales, the doctor also found out that his late wife poisoned his daughter so she could have him all to herself. Dean was done with his work at the little girl's house, he made sure she was safe before he took off to get to Shia. Dean raced down the street in his impala and ran into the motel room to only find Shia with a flat stomach and her cradling their daughter in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked as he walked over to her and kissed her lightly. Shia nodded and kissed him again as the both looked down at their daughter. "She okay?"

"Yes, Dean, she's fine." Shia said with a smile. Dean reached out to hold his baby and Shia gladly gave her to him.

"It's nice to see you back to normal."

"Yeah, it's nice to feel normal. I never thought I'd pregnant again, so soon." Shia said with a chuckle. Dean leaned over and kissed her once more. Seconds later, Dean's phone ringed.

"Yeah, Sammy, everything is okay."

~October 31, 2007~

Shia walked out of the recent motel room they were staying in with Lynx in her arms, dressed up like a princess. Dean and Sam looked up at Shia to see the pretty dress Lynx was in. Dean got up and walked over to her.

"Look at my chunky monkey." Dean said with awe as he reached over and took the baby away from Shia and holding her close. "Where are you two supposed to be going?"

"We're going treat or treating, Dean. Remember?" Shia said with a small smile as she started to put blankets in Lynx's carrier. Sam just smiled as he got up and grabbed his jacket.

"While you guys do that...I have other things to do...like go to a bar." Sam said but Shia looked at him with suspicion. Sam looked at her with pleading eyes to let it go and she did. Moments later Sam was gone. Now, it was Shia's and Lynx's time to leave.

"I don't like this idea. It's cold out." Dean pouted as Shia got her baby bag ready.

"Dean, we're not going to be outside. There's this church that offers candy and fun baby things. I wasn't going to tell you that because I know how you feel about churches." Shia told Dean as she walked over and reached for Lynx but Dean backed up. "Dean—"

"Take a picture. I mean it's her first Halloween, you know?" Dean said. Shia saw right through him, the reason why he wanted her to take a picture because this is the first and last Halloween he will share with his baby and he wanted it to be a memory for her. Shia smiled a little but nodded anyways, she went to her purse and pulled her her small portable camera she bought in case of moments like this. She'll have the pictures printed out soon. After the picture Shia reached over to grab Lynx and placed her in the carrier, she was about to leave when Dean spoke up.

"Wait. I'm coming with you." Dean said as he grabbed his jacket.

"You are?" Shia based with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, it's our first Halloween as a married couple and as parents. I want to share it with you." Shia smiled as Dean's words and motioned for him to come along.

The night ended up being perfect. They had so much fun, but Shia couldn't help but think what Sam was doing...

~I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Leave some comments if you'd like to.~


	37. Chapter 37: Red Sky At Morning (3x06)

Carry on my wayward son, they'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more.  
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Red Sky At Morning (3x06)

November 6, 2007

The Winchesters stood in the living room at Shia's brother, Michael's, house. Dean found a case and thought it would be better if Lynx stayed with one of her uncles, only because Bobby was busy with a hunt of his own and Tanner is now located in England for her schooling. Shia gently and slowly gave Lynx to Michael's wife, Katie, so she could place Lynx in a room they have for her.

"Take care of her. Okay?" Shia told her brother. Michael nodded at her and smiled at her.

"You three have a safe hunt." He told the Winchester trio to which they all nodded and made their way out of his home.

~Six hours later.~

Dean was driving down a dark road late at night , Sam was in the passenger's seat and Shia in the backseat. There was a tense silence in the car between the brothers, which Dean broke.

"So, I've been waiting since we left fairy tale world, but then decided to wait...but had enough of waiting after we dropped Lynx off. You got something to tell me?" Dean asked as calmly as he could make himself as the spark of being upset stirred in him.

"It's not your birthday." Sam said playing dumb, he knew what Dean was talking about he just chose not to acknowledge it. Shia sat up to listen to the boys, she also knew Sam's little secret but said nothing because it wasn't for her to tell.

"No." Dean plainly said.

"Is it your 3rd year dating anniversary with Shia?"

"No, that's next week. You're getting off subject."

"... Happy Purim?" Sam asked then after a pause he laughed. "Dude, I don't know. I have no idea what you're talking about—"

"There's a bullet missing from the Colt. You want to tell me how that happened? I know it wasn't me. So unless you were shooting at some incredibly evil cans..." Dean said as he cut Sam off from his sentence. Shia sensed an argument coming so she sat back and pulled out a book about what to expect from a baby during the first six months of life.

"Dean ..." Sam said softly.

"You went after her, didn't you? The Crossroads Demon. After I told you not to." Dean asked as he looked for Sam to the road.

"Yeah, well..."

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I didn't." Sam simply said.

"And you shot her." Dean said more to himself than Sam.

"She was probably being a smartass." Shia said out loud as she flipped the page in her book. Sam nodded agreeing with Shia.

"So, what? Does that, does that mean I'm out of my deal?" Dean asked almost hopefully, he tried to cover it up but he couldn't fool Sam or his wife.

"Don't you think I might have mentioned that little fact, Dean? No. Someone else holds the contract." Sam said as he looked out the window, watching the trees as they passed them.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"She wouldn't say."

"Well, we should find out who. Of course, our best lead would be the Crossroads Demon. Oh, wait a minute..." Dean smarted off with a scoff.

"That's not funny." Sam said.

"No, it's not! It was a stupid freaking risk, and you shouldn't have done it."

"I shouldn't have done it? You're my brother, Dean. And no matter what you do, I'm gonna try and save you. And I'm sure as hell not gonna apologize for it, all right?" Sam said ending the conversation. Dean was silent. Sam shook his head in exasperation.

~November 7, 2007 (approximately 10:45 a.m.)~

Sam, Shia and Dean were impersonating officers of the law to interview a witness. She was holding a framed photograph of the shower-drowning victim. The witness' name is Gertrude Case, an elegant and well-groomed and approximately 70 year old woman. As the interview continued, she began to flirt shamelessly with Sam.

"But I don't understand. I already went over all this with the other detectives." Gertrude told the Winchester trio.

"Right, yes. But, see, we're with the Sheriff's Department, not the police department – different departments." Dean lied smoothly.

"So, Mrs. Case..." Sam began.

"Please." The older lady said looking intently at Sam. "Ms. Case." Shia couldn't help but look up at Dean with a small grin on her face, Dean shared her humor in this situation.

"Okay. Um, _Ms._ Case, um... you were the one who found your niece, correct?" Sam said a little taken back by the older flirting woman.

"I came home, she was in the shower." Gertrude said sadly as she looked down. Shia then felt really bad for her, she assumed that it was the only piece of family she had left that was close to her.

"Drowned?" Shia asked finally speaking up in the interview.

"So the coroner says. Now, you tell me, how can someone drown in the shower?"

"How would you describe Sheila's behavior in the days before her death? I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary, or ...?" Sam asked as he wrote small notes on his notepad.

"Wait a minute. You're working with Alex, aren't you?" Gertrude asked with a small smile. Shia raised an eyebrow at the older lady. 'Who's the fuck Alex?' Shia thought.

"Yep. Absolutely. That Alex and us, we're like this." Dean said thinking it was an opportunity to twist the truth with a lie.

"Why didn't you say so? Alex has been such a comfort. But I'm sorry. I thought the case was solved."

"Uh... Well, no. No, not yet." Sam told her.

"I see." Gertrude said with a nod as she looked down again.

"So, anyways, we were talking about your niece."

"Well, yes. Sheila mentioned something quite strange before she died. She said she saw a boat."

"A boat?" Shia asked as she placed a hand on her hip when she noticed the white haired lady wouldn't look at her.

"Yes. One minute it was there, then it was gone. It just disappeared right before her eyes. You think it could be a ... ghost ship? Alex thinks it could be a ghost ship." Gertrude said addressing all her comments to Sam, staring at him intently.

"Well, um ... Could be." Sam said a bit thrown off by the intent stare from Gertrude.

"Well. You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you." She said as she traced a finger slowly along Sam's hand; Sam looked uncomfortable, and Dean cleared his throat, smirking broadly. Shia looked at Dean then back at Sam and Gertrude, she shook her head at the situation but also smiled just as wide as Dean. "Anything at all."

Dean, Shia and Sam walked along the docks. The water was crowded with pristine, moderately sized boats.

"What a crazy old broad." Dean stated as he intertwined his fingers with Shia as they walked along the dock.

"Why? Because she believes in ghosts?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Look at you, sticking up for your girlfriend. You cougar hound." Dean said with a laugh following. Shia shook her head but laughed a little also.

"Bite me." Sam said with a serious frown on his face.

"Hey, not if she bites you first." Dean said.

"Honey, stop teasing your brother." Shia said as Dean pulled her closer to him.

"So, who's this Alex? We got another player in town?" Dean asked both Shia and Sam.

"Maybe, maybe not." Shia said.

"Either way, it doesn't change our job."

"And what looked like a ghost ship, right?"

"Yeah. It's not the first one sighted around here, either." Sam told his brother.

"Really?" Dean asked, suddenly getting interested.

"Yeah. Every 37 years, like clockwork, reports of a vanishing three-mast clipper ship out in the bay. And every 37 years, a rash of weirdo, dry-land drownings. Shia read about it with me." Sam said nodding towards Shia.

"So, whatever's happening is just getting started." Dean said finally catching wind of the whole 'clock work' thing.

"Yeah." Sam simply said.

"What's the lore?" Dean asked either Sam or Shia.

"Well, there are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world. The _S.S. Violet_ , the _Griffin_ , the _Flying Dutchman_ – almost all of them are death omens." Shia said as she recited what she read and already knew.

"So, what happens? You see the ship and then a few hours later, you pucker up and kiss your ass goodbye?" Dean asked.

"Basically." Shia said with a shrug.

"What's the next step?"

"We gotta I.D. the boat." Sam said.

"That shouldn't be too hard. I mean, how many three-mast clipper ships have wrecked off the coast?"

"Me and Shia checked that too, actually. Over one hundred and fifty."

"Wow." Dean said he shook his head.

"Yeah." Sam and Shia agreed. Dean kept walking but then stopped and turned to Shia and Sam.

"Crap." Dean said finally realizing the amount of boats that Sam just told him. Sam and Shia simply nodded at Dean.

They approached an empty parking space; Dean looked around, confused.

"This is where we parked the car, right?" Dean asked his wife and brother.

"I thought so." Sam said sharing the same confusion as Dean.

"Where's my car?" Dean asked mostly himself.

"Babe, did you feed the meter?" Shia asked as she looked around again.

"Yes, I fed the meter. Sam, where's my car? Somebody stole my CAR!" Dean said as Hus voiced raised in panic.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Dea—" Sam started to say.

"I am calmed down! Somebody stole my ca—" Dean began hyperventilating, bending over to clutch his knees to calm down. Shia went to his side immediately to try to get him to calm down.

"Whoa. Dean. Take it easy, okay?" Sam said after looking around, heard Dean gasping and ran over to the other side of him trying to calm him down with Shia.

"The '67 Impala? Was that yours?" A familiar British accent asked as the young lady walked up towards them.

"Bela." Shia said bitterly as she looked up.

"I'm sorry. I had that car towed."

"You what?!" Dean asked.

"Well, it was in a tow-away zone." Bela said with a sneaky grin.

"No, it wasn't!" Dean said surly.

"It was when I finished with it." Bela said. Shia was about to walk up to her but Sam grabbed her, not wanting to cause a scene.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Shia asked trying to mask her anger.

"A little yachting." The British woman said flippantly.

"You're Alex. You're working with that old lady." Sam said with realization.

"Gert's a dear old friend." Bela said half heartily.

"Yeah, right. What's your angle?" Dean asked.

"There's no angle. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats."

"And let me guess, it's all a con, none of it's real."

"The comfort I provide them is very real." Bela said but Shia calls bullshit.

"How do you sleep at night?" Sam asked as he shook his head.

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money." Bela said. Dean visualized and nodded slightly. Shia saw what Dean did and hit him on the shoulder. "Really, Sam. I'd expect the attitude from him and the powerless demi god, but you?"

"I'll show you powerless." Shia mumbled. Dean touched her hand trying to calm her down and not hurt Bela.

"You _shot_ me!" Sam reminded her.

"I barely grazed you." Bela told him. Sam looked exasperated, while Dean shrugged in mute acknowledgement of Bela's point. Shia still stared at her with pure hatred. Bela then turned to Dean and Sam. "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen, yeah?"

"You do know what's going on around here. This ghost-ship thing, it is real." Dean told her a little bit calmer then he was, but we all know that he's still highly pissed at her.

"I'm aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."

"It isn't." Shia said to her as she balled her fist trying hard not to kick the brown headed woman's ass.

"She didn't know that. Now the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers. Look... just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble. I'd get to that car if I were you... before they find the arsenal in the trunk." Bela said as she walked back to her car but turned around. "Ciao." She then was gone.

"Can I shoot her?" Dean asked in a serious tone. Sam and Shia knew he meant it.

"Not in public." Sam told him.

"Can I kill her with me powers?" Shia asked and it was clear that she was serious.

"Again, not in public."

~November 8, 2007 (approximately 10:15 a.m.)~

The last victim's house had become a crime scene. Bela, impersonating a reporter, was interviewing a distraught man who was the victim's brother.

"No. The police said that he drowned, but ... I don't u-understand how..." The brother if the victim said with a sad expression.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr. Warren. Now, if you could just tell me one more time about the ship your brother saw." Bela said as sympathetic as she could. Dean, Shia and Sam approached, wearing suits and flashing badges.

"Ma'am, I think this man's been through quite enough. You should go." Dean told Bela glaring at her slightly.

"But I just have a few more questions."

"No, you don't." Shia said firmly send the death glare at Bela.

"Thank you for your time." Bela said as she turned to the young man she was once interviewing, then she made her way pass the Winchester trio but sent daggers with her eyes at each one of them...especially Shia.

"Sorry you had to deal with that. They're like ROACHES," Dean said, his voice rose so that Bela, walking away, could hear she turned and looked back at him.

"So, we heard you say your brother saw a ship." Sam said leading the young man, Mr. Warren, away from the situation at hand.

"Yeah, that's right." Mr. Warren said with a nod.

"Did he tell you what it looked like?" Shia asked.

"It was, uh... like the old Yankee clippers. A smuggling vessel. The rakish topsail, a barkentine rigging. Angel figurehead on the bow."

"That's a lot of detail for a ship your brother saw." Sam said with a raised eyebrow, exchanging glances with Shia and Dean.

"My brother and I were night diving. I saw the ship, too." Sam, Shia and Dean looked at each other. On the other side of the parking lot, Bela was talking to the real uniforms and pointing in Dean, Shia and Sam's direction. Sam noticed first and nudged Dean while Shia continued to think about the problem at hand.

"All right. Well, we'll be in touch." Dean said wrapping the interview up.

"Thank you." Sam said with a nod and began to walk away along with Dean. Mr. Warren looked at Shia, as she looked at him, she nodded at him and walked quickly to catch up with her husband and brother in law.

Dean, Sam, and Shia were loading shotguns at the trunk of the Impala. Bela approached from behind.

"I see you got your car back." Bela said as her British accent filled the ears of the trained hunters.

"You really want to come near me when I got a loaded gun in my hands?" Dean said not even turning around, then he turned to look at her. Shia just smirked at her husband instead of speaking.

"Now, now. Mind your blood pressure. Why are you even still here? You have enough to I.D. the boat."

"That guy back there saw the ship." Sam told her.

"Yeah? And?" Bela said heartlessly.

"And, he's going to die, so we have to save him." Shia said, she could feel her blood start to boil slowly.

"How sweet."

"You think this is funny?" Dean asked the brown haired woman.

"He's cannon fodder. He can't be saved in time, and you know it."

"Yeah, well, see, we have souls, so ... we're gonna try."

"Yeah, well, I'm actually going to find the ship and put an end to this. But you have fun." Bela said as she started to walk away. About to get in their car, Sam, Shia and Dean paused. Shia continued to stare at Bela and decided to speak.

"Hey, Bela, how'd you get like this, huh? What, did Daddy not give you enough hugs or something?"

"I don't know. Your daddy give you enough? Oh, I forgot, you don't have a real daddy." Bela said with a smirk. Shia walked over her and got in her face, she was about slap her before Sam and Dean stopped her. Bela backed away from Shia.

"You bitch." Shia mumbled. Dean placed his hand over his wife's mouth trying to get to be quiet and let the comment go.

"Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're not better than I am." Bela told the demi god as the boys were still trying to clam her down.

"We help people." Dean told her.

"Come on. You do this out of vengeance and obsession. You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer. Whereas I, on the other hand, I get paid to do a job and I do it. So, you tell me – which is healthier?"

"Bela, why don't you just leave? We've got work to do." Sam told her after he scoffed softly at her.

"Yeah. You're 0 for 2. Bang-up job so far." Bela said before she turned to leave. They stared at her go, and Dean officially let go of Shia's waist and took his hand away from her mouth.

"Why didn't you let me kick her ass?" Shia asked.

"Because you're better than that. Let her say or think what she wants. Yes, I want to shoot her but come on..." Dean said before he grabbed Shia's hand and pulled her closer to him. Shia snuggled in the crook of his neck as he hugged her tightly.

"Guys, we have to go." Sam said, he felt bad to have to break up the intimate moment between his brother and Shia.

~November 8, 2007 (approximately 10:55 p.m.)~

The Winchester crew were staking out the home of Peter Warren, the victim's brother. They were seated in the impala with Sam doing research, reading papers in the backseat while Shia and Dean were hugged up together in the front seat.

"Anything good?" Dean asked Sam as he wrapped his arm around Shia and intertwined their fingers.

"No, not really. I mean, both brothers are Duke University grads. No criminal record. I mean, a few speeding tickets. They inherited their father's real estate fortune six years ago." Sam told his brother as he continued to read his research.

"How much?" Shia asked out of curiosity as she leaned into Dean more, getting warm.

"$112 million." Sam said casually.

"Nice life." Dean said after he whistled, then he looked at Shia and smiled. "You know how many toys we could my chunky monkey for Christmas if we had that type of money."

"Dean, trust me, she has enough toys." Shia giggled as she thought about all the toys that were delivered to her dad's house, sent from Julius and Michael. "She can't really play with them yet anyways."

"They totally had a nice life. I mean, nice, clean, aboveboard. So why did they see the ship? Why Sheila, too? What do they all have in common?" Sam said as he thought about the case while his brother and wife thought about their child.

"Maybe nothing." Dean said with a shrug.

"No, there has to be something." Shia said as she shook her head at Dean's comment.

"Shia's right, there's always something." Sam said, firmly agreeing with his sister in law. Just then Peter spotted them, and had came out of his house toward them, stopping inside his security gate.

"Hey, you!" Peter said more extremely annoyed then angry.

"I think we've been made." Dean commented and he untangled himself from Shia. They all got out of the car and approached him.

"What are you guys doing?! You watching me?" Peter yelled from his gate.

"Sir, calm down. Please." Sam said as they stopped about 10 feet from the gate.

"You guys aren't cops! Not dressed like that. Not – not in that crappy car." Peter said insulting Dean tremendously. Shia looked at Dean and smirked at his hurt face from the comment about the car.

"Whoa, hey. No need to get nasty." Dean told him seriously.

"We are cops, okay? We're undercover. We're here because we think you're in danger." Sam explained calmly, not wanting to freak him out completely.

"From who?!" Peter asked.

"If you just settle down, we'll talk about it." Shia said calmly but deep down she was getting annoyed by with this guy.

"Look, you guys just stay away from me!" Peter then ran to his own car and started to drive it toward the gate.

"Wait!" Sam called out.

"Hey, you moron! We're trying to help you!" Dean said getting really annoyed with the future victim if they don't help. As Peter's car approached the gate, the car shuddered, coughed, and died.

"That's never a good sign." Shia said as she made her eyes go to her power color, which is a blue white color. She was ready to help the guy if something is after him.

"You're right. Dean, get the salt gun." Sam said. Dean ran back to the Impala as Sam dashed to help and Shia tried to orb inside the car but something was not letting her. Inside Peter's car, a spirit dressed in old seaman's clothes and a navy coat, his long hair dripping into his eyes, appeared in the rear seat. Peter turned to look but the spirit is gone; then it re-appeared in the front passenger seat. It turned to Peter and glared, then reached out to touch his cheek. Peter convulsed, choking on water that spilled out of his mouth and struggling to get a breath. He scrabbled for the door, which locked itself, and he slumped over. Sam arrived at the car as Shia finally figured that she can't get in the car so instead she orbed outside of it.

"Peter!" Sam yelled out for him as he tried to get in the car. Peter doesn't respond, but the spirit glared straight at Sam and Shia. Dean arrives on the other side and aimed the salt gun at the spirit.

"Sam! Babe!" Sam ducked and pulled Shia down with him as Dean fired. The spirit disappeared, and Dean reached through the shattered glass to unclock the car doors. Sam yanked the drive-side door open. He pulled Peter back and checked for a pulse, but after a few seconds his shoulders slumped and he sighed, shaking his head at Dean and Shia. Dean kicked the door in frustration. Shia only stared at the dead body of Peter Warren.

"Instead of trying to get inside the car, I should have just orbed outside the car to help him out." Shia said, but it was more of a mumble. Dean looked at her and walked over to her, he grabbed her face to look at him.

"Don't go blaming yourself, he was going to die whether we wanted him to or not." Dean told his wife, she nodded at him and leaned her head in his shoulder. "Sam call the cops, so we can go."

~Five minutes later~

Sam, Shia, and Dean were driving along in the Impala with the radio going, talking about the incoming weather. Sam and Dean sat in the front, of course with Dean driving, Shia laid in the back trying to get some type of rest.

" _When what started out as a mild severe weather front headed in from the Northwest. Expect heavy lightning and thunder, with suddenrainfall—_ "

"Do you wanna say it or should I?" Dean asked Sam as he turned off the radio.

"What?" Sam asked, slightly confused.

"You can't save everybody, Sam."

"Yeah, right, so – so what, you feel better now or what?"

"No, not really." Dean said honestly.

"Me neither." Sam said as he shook his head.

"You gotta understa—"

"It's just lately, I feel like I can't save anybody." Sam said cutting Dean off. Dean decided to end the conversation there because he couldn't think of anything else to say. Dean looked in the rearview mirror to get a look at Shia, who was sound asleep, he smiled softly and continued to drive.

~November 9, 2007 (approximately 11:36 a.m.)~

Inside the house Dean, Shia, and Sam were staying in the younger Winchester was reading, Dean was on his phone with Bobby. Shia sat near a table reading a text from Michael about Lynx.

'She's doing just fine. I recently noticed that Julius was right, she is growing into her powers because every time she's hungry instead of crying, she'll make all the lights blink in the house. She's sure a happy baby, I'm glad to call her my niece. Stop worrying about her because I know you are. You'll get to see her soon, okay? Love you, baby sis.'

Shia smiled softly at the text and couldn't help but re read it. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Dean hung up his call and checked the door and saw that it was Bela. Sam and Dean shared a long look before Dean opened the door. Shia just stared at her phone, not looking up.

"Dear ... God." Bela said, Sam sighed. "Are you actually squatting? Charming." Shia rolled her eyes and picked up her gun beside her and cocked it, aiming it at Bela but managed to still not look up from her phone. Bela stood there wide eyed, until Dean walked over to Shia and took her gun away and whispered "Behave," in his wife's ear. "So how'd things go last night with Peter?" Sam, Shia and Dean didn't respond.

"That well, huh?" Bela said after noticing the silence.

"If you say 'I told you so', I swear to God I'll start swinging." Dean said a little annoyed with the woman.

"I was going to shoot her but you took my gun." Shia mumbled loud enough for Bela to hear.

"I'm debating on giving it back to you." Dean told Shia honestly.

"Look, I think the four of us should have a heart-to-heart." Bela said trying to show the Winchesters that she doesn't fear them, so she remained bold.

"That's assuming that you have a heart." Dean said with a soft scoff.

"She doesn't." Shia said.

"Shia, darling, please... I'm sorry about what I said before, okay? I come bearing gifts."

"Such as?" Sam asked raising an eyebrow.

"I've ID'd the ship." Bela told them, she started to unzip a portfolio file.

~A short while later~

"It's the _EspíritoSanto_ , a merchant sailing vessel, quite a colorful history. In 1859 a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was 37." Bela told them. Dean and Sam was buying into the thought of Bela wanting to help but Shia still didn't trust her.

"Which would explain the 37 year cycle." Sam said thoughtfully.

"Aren't you a sharp tack?" Bela said with a small grin, but then she saw their unamused glances. "There's a photo of him somewhere ... here."

"Isn't that the customer we saw last night?" Dean asked his brother and wife.

"You saw him?" Bela asked wide eyed.

"Yeah, that's him, except he was missing a hand."

"His right hand?" Bela asked. Shia saw her excitement even though Bela tried to mask it.

"How'd you know that, Bela?" Shia said slightly trying to trap her in some type of way to get her to admit that she could be playing them to get what she wants.

"The sailor's body was cremated, but not before they cut off his hand to make a hand of glory."

"A hand of glory? I think I got one of those at the end of my Thai massage last week." Dean said with a quick laugh.

"Dean, the right hand of a hanged man is a serious occult object. It's very powerful." Sam told his brother who obviously doesn't read up on much. Dean rolled his eyes, Shia just softly smiled at him and wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him.

"So they say." Bela said as she dismissed the intimate moment that Dean and Shia quickly shared.

"And officially counts as remains." Dean said and Shia nodded at him.

"But still, none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims." Sam said placing his hands on his hips.

"I'll tell you why. Who cares? Find the hand, burn it, and stop the bloody thing." Bela said quickly and determined. Shia wasn't buying her bullshit.

"I don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this?" Dean said placing his arm around Shia's shoulder.

"Because I know exactly where the hand is." Bela said with a small grin.

"Where?" Shia asked with an eyebrow raised.

"At the Sea Pines Museum. It's a macabre bit of maritime history. But I need help."

"What kind of help?" Sam asked and Bela smiled.

~Later that evening~

The house was filled with lit candles. Bela was waiting in the living room of Sam, Shia, and Dean's house; no one else was around. Bela was wearing an evening gown with quite a lot of glittery necklace.

"What is taking so long? Sam's already halfway there... with his date. I really hope you two aren't having sex." Bela said as she got her necklace on.

"So not okay with this!" Dean said.

"What are you, a woman? Come down already, both of you." Bela said with her arms crossed. Dean descended the stairs in is tux, Bela sighed in appreciation.

"All right, get it out – I look ridiculous." Dean told Bela with a frown.

"Not exactly the word I'd use." Shia said coming from behind Dean with her shirt and jeans on, she couldn't go with them because Bela only had two extra tickets.

"I agree with your wife." Bela said with a small amount of lust settled in her eyes.

"Hey, don't look at him like that." Shia told Bela as she noticed the look she was giving her husband, she didn't like that at all. Bela then looked at Shia and smirked.

"What?" Shia asked with a glare.

"You know, when this is over, we should really have angry lesbian sex." Bela grinned.

"You are so barking up the wrong tree." Shia said with a scoff as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Okay, let's go." Dean said breaking up the awkward silence. Dean then leaned over to give Shia a kiss, but then Shia grabbed him and kissed him passionately. When they pulled away Dean stared at her.

"I just wanted you to remember me while you go out with Bela." Shia told him. Dean smiled and kissed her once more before leaving with Bela. Shia watched them leave and smirked to herself, she looked at her watch and ran upstairs to get ready to go to the ball party.

Dean and Bela pulled into the Sea Pines Museum parking lot in the Impala. Bela and Dean walked in, arm in arm. Bela hands an invitation to the doorman.

"Are you chewing gum?" Bela asked Dean as she looked at him. "Try to behave as if you've lived this life before, yeah?" Dean looked around, took out his gum, and stuck it under the flowing champagne fountain. Bela looked appalled and rolled her eyes. Dean gave her a thumbs-up and they walked into the gathering.

Gertrude, the older woman from a couple of days ago, was handing her invitation to the doorman. Her hair was down, and she walked over to Sam, also in a tux, lacing her arm through his.

"This'll get their tongues wagging, eh, my Adonis?" She said to Sam.

"Just remember, we're on business." Sam told her with a sigh.

"Ooooh, but sometimes business can be pleasure, hmm?" Gert said as she slid a hand up his chest seductively.

"Right." Sam said through his teeth, it was obvious that Sam was very comfortable but he tried to mask his feeling for the sake of the case. They walked arm-and-arm into the room. Gert ran a hand over Sam's back possessively. Sam chuckled nervously.

"You know, uh, could you excuse me for a moment?" Sam asked.

"Of course." Gert made a sort of coochie-coo expression at Sam.

"Great. Thanks. Thanks." Sam patted her hand and walked over to Bela and Dean. "Exactly how long do you expect me to entertain my date?"

"As long as it takes." Bela told him.

"Look, there's security all over this place, all right. This is an uncrashable party without Gert's invitation, so..." Dean said with a shrug.

"We can crash anything, Dean." Sam said with an eye roll, he really didn't want to go over there back to the older woman.

"Yeah, I know, but this is easier and it's a lot more entertaining."

"You know there are limits to what I'll do, right?"

"Ah, he's playing hard to get, that's cute. Come on." Dean said then sighed. "I want all the details in the morning!" Sam smiled tightly.

"Thank you." Bela told Sam. Dean and Bela walked off. Sam adjusted his tuxedo considering his next move. Two glasses of champagne appeared before him, followed by Gert's hand, offering him a glass and a toast.

"To us." Gert said rather seductively. Sam looked at the champagne reluctantly than swiged the whole glass. Gert looked excited by his enthusiasm. Just then Sam noticed that most of everyone's eyes were facing towards the door, he then turned to see what everyone was looking at, he smiled softly seeing Shia stand there in dark red dress with sparkling jewelry in the middle, the way the dress hugged her curves were perfect. Sam thought that she looked absolutely stunning, she didn't look that beautiful since the wedding.

"Uh, Gert, will you excuse me? I have to go greet my friend over there." Sam said to the older woman.

"Hurry back, don't want to miss the party with me." She told Sam with a seductive wink. Sam smiled very tightly at her and quickly but casually walked over to Shia.

"Hey, come here often?" Sam said as he walked up to Shia, and she giggles at him and took a look at him.

"My, my, my. Sam, you clean up nice." Shia told him as she quickly fixed his tie. Sam looked back at Gert to see her watching them. Shia followed his gaze and smiled softly. "How's your date going?"

"She's very handsy." Sam said with a small frown.

"Awe, she likes you."

"No, she lusts me."

"I guess that is a more accurate term to use." Shia said with a small chuckle, she looked around the room and frowned softly. "Where's my husband and Bela?"

"They went to go get the hand, I had to stay down here and entertain my date." Sam said shifting comfortably. "You know, as a brother asking his sister...would you like to dance?" Shia smiled and took his hand, Sam led her to the dancefloor and they slowly danced to the music. Shia had her head on his chest with one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand, to the unknowing eye they would look like a young couple in love, but for them the dance brought comfort, it was like a long hug just to let each other know that things that are happening now will work out fine and a change will come soon.

"Um, excuse me? May I cut in?" Sam's date, Gertrude, asked as she glared softly at Shia. Sam whined a little inside, and Shia just smiled.

"Yes, of course, he is your date after all." Shia said as she made her way over to the bar, to watch Sam and Gert from a far. She occasionally chuckled when she would see the older lady try to grope Sam.

~Moments later~

Gert was still leaning into Sam's chest, clutching an empty champagne flute. She seemed perhaps a bit tipsy.

"Man, this is one long song." Sam noted as he continued to look around.

"I hope it never ends." Gert said as she breathed deeply, she paused while Sam looked deeply pained. "How's the investigation going?"

"These things take time."

"People are talking about the Warren brothers' deaths. Strange. Do you think it's connected to Shelia's?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we think so." Sam told her.

"I think they had it coming, you know. In a Biblical sort of way." Gert slurred slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You know about their father?"

"No?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow, slightly confused.

"Come here, I'll whisper it to you." Sam tried to object as Gert pulled his head down to her mouth. "People say that the old man didn't die of _natural_ causes."

"Then how?" Sam said as he grimaced.

"Rumor is the boys did it. Nothing was ever proved, but, uh, people still whisper." She told as she was caressing him, whispering and blowing into his ear.

"Okay, okay, okay." Sam said wincing and pulling away. "Um, um, so did, did, did Sheila have any connection to them?"

"Well, none that I know of."

"Did Sheila have any kind of tragedy in her life?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact there was a ... car accident when she was a teenager."

"What happened?"

"Her car flipped over. She was okay but her cousin Brian was killed. Why, is that important?" Gertrude said sadly as her eyes travelled from Sam's eyes to the floor.

"Uh..." Sam stumbled just as Bela and Dean approached.

"Well! Having a nice time?" Bela asked with a genuine smile.

"He's delightful!" Gert said but then whispered to Bela. "He wants me!"

"Oh!" Bela said surprisingly. Dean had a look of surprise on his face and Sam looked abashed.

"I'm going to get Gert into a cold shower." Bela told the boys low enough that Gert couldn't hear.

"Great idea." Sam said with a nod.

"See you at the cemetery." Bela nodded at them both and left with Gertrude. Dean checked his pocket, then turned to Sam.

"You stink like sex." Dean said seriously. Sam frowned and started to sniff himself.

"Dean, stop picking on your brother." Shia said making herself known as she walked up to the brothers. Dean then turned to look at his wife and his eyes went wide, as she made her way over to him his stomach was filled with butterflies and he began to sweat slightly. It felt like he wedding day all over again.

"You look so beautiful." Dean said almost inaudible, but Shia heard him and blushed slightly.

"We should get going Dean, we have to meet that tramp soon."

"Ah, damn, I wanted one dance." Dean joked but inside he really wanted one dance with her.

"You'll get your dance some other time, we have a case at hand." Shia said as she turned around but then stopped to look at the boys with a goofy grin. "Get it? At hand? You know with the ghost hand? No? Okay." Sam and Dean watched her walk off, they exchange a grin. 'Haven't seen that side of Shia in a long time.' Sam thought.

Outside the Sea Pines Museum, in the parking lot. Sam, Dean, and Shia were getting into the Impala.

"You got it, right? Tell me I didn't get groped all night by Mrs. Havisham for nothing." Sam pouted as he sat in the impala front seat.

"I got it... Mrs. Who?" Dean asked as his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Never mind. Just let me see it." Dean pulled something out of his pocket and starts unwrapping it, looking uptight.

"What, babe?" Shia asked seeing his expression. Dean held up the ship in the bottle that Bela had been looking at in the office.

"I'm gonna kill her." Dean said in the most serious way possible. Shia rolled her eyes and sat back.

"You should have let me kill her earlier today."

~Thirty minutes later~

The house Sam, Shia, and Dean were squatting in was lit by candles. Dean was examining the ship-in-a-bottle by the light of one of the candles.

"You know what, you're right. I'm not gonna kill her. I think slow torture's the way to go." Dean said with pure anger. Shia didn't say anything but instead she hugged him from behind as she laid her head on his back.

"Dean, look, you gotta relax." Sam said trying to calm his brother down.

"Relax! Oh yeah, yeah, I'll relax. I can't believe she got another one over on us!"

"You." Sam and Shia said in unison.

"What?"

"I...I mean, she got ... one over ... on you, ... not us." Sam said as honestly, Shia walked over to Sam and sat beside him and looked at Dean with a grin.

"Thank you! Sam and Shia. Very helpful." Dean said loudly as he shook his head. Just then there was rapid knocking at the door.

"Hello? Could you open up?" Bela said in almost a panic tone. Dean opened the door. "Just let me explain." Sam, Shia and Dean all looked pissed at her.

Inside, a short while later. Bela was sitting, Dean was leaning over her, looking like, "I knew it!" Sam was leaning against the mantel, Shia beside him, with serious bitchface.

"I sold it. I had a buyer lined up as soon as I knew it existed." Bela confessed. Dean and Sam looked surprise but Shia wasn't shocked at all. Dean, furious, walked around her and made a shooting motion with his fingers. Shia shook her head but couldn't help but smile a little at his seriousness about killing Bela.

"So the whole reason for us going to the charity ball was...?" Sam asked with a slight frown of the time he had to spend with Gert.

"I needed a cover. You were convenient."

"Look, you sold it to a buyer. Just go buy it back." Sam told her, but Bela shook her head.

"It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time."

"In time for what?" Dean asked slightly confused. Bela looked down, without answering right away.

"What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost." Shia commented noting how Bela was acting.

"I saw the ship."

"You what?" Dean asked and then paused. "Wow, you know, I – I knew you were an immoral thieving con artist bitch, but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower—"

"What are you talking about?" Bela asked clearly confused.

"We figured out the spirit's motive." Sam said, he showed Bela a photograph. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."

"So?"

"So, they were brothers. Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target – people who've spilled their own family's blood." Shia told Bela extremely pissed, but didn't speak to her as harshly as she wanted. Bela looked stunned. "See, first there was Sheila who killed her cousin in the car accident, and the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance. And now you."

"Oh my God." Bela said as she looked down.

"I always knew you were low, Bela, but really?"

"So who was it, Bela? Hmm? Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Your little sis, maybe?" Dean asked leaning closer to her, interrogating her.

"It's none of your business." Bela answered sharply.

"No? Riight. Well, have a nice life – you know, whatever's left of it." Dean said as he stood straight, he slapped her on the back. "Sam and Shia, let's go." Dean walked towards the door, picking up his jacket. Bela stood up.

"You can't just leave me here." Bela cried out.

"Watch us." Shia said as she grabbed her books, ready to leave.

"Please." Bela said grabbing Sam's arm. Sam looked down, moved. "I need your help."

"Our help? Now how could a couple of serial killers possibly help you?" Dean said reminding her what she called them earlier.

"Okay, that was a bit harsh, I admit it, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence."

"That's not why you're gonna die. What'd you do, Bela?" Shia asked crossing her arms.

"You wouldn't understand. No one did. Never mind. I'll just do what I've always done, I'll deal with it myself." Bela turned to leave.

"You do realize you just sold the one thing that could save your life." Dean told her.

"I'm aware." Bela said sadly.

"Well ..." Sam said with a sigh. "maybe not the only thing." Dean and Shia looked at Sam.

~Cemetary, November 9, 2007 (approximately 11:35 p.m.)~

Sam was setting up a kind of ritual circle: five candles, a pentagram, a bowl into which he poured a jar of red liquid. Another jar is on the opposite side of the circle, with what appeared to be herbs in it. Sam placed something else into the center of the circle.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Bela said tightening the grip of her jacket.

"Almost definitely not." Dean said leaning on a tombstone, with a gun across his shoulder and Shia under his arm on the other side of him.

"Dean, don't scared the poor girl." Shia smirked up at Dean and he leaned down to kiss her quickly.

"Disgusting, in a graveyard?" Bela asked the couple and they both shrugged at her. Thunder crashed; wind whistled; rain started pouring. Sam zipped up his jacket but inexplicably fails to pull up his hood. Dean stood up straight, looking around.

"Sammy! You better start reading." Dean said as he took in the weather change. Shia went over to stand beside Bela ready to use her powers if she can to protect her.

"Aziel, Castiel, Lamisniel, Rabam.  
Ehrley, et balam, ego vos conuro, per deum verum, per deum vivum cuivos cuiaves eos supermontes et per eum, qui adam, et avum formovit. Et per eum," Sam shouted more Latin over the stormy weather.

"Stay close to me and Shia." Dean shouted at Bela as he cocked his gun.  
"Behind you!" Bela shouted to let them know that she's listening to them. The phantom approached and threw Dean through the air, he hit an object with a painful thud. Shia tried to use her powers to stop him from walking forward, he somehow dodged her powers and threw her in the opposite direction as Dean. Sam looked up and continued reading Latin. The phantom reached out to Bela and placed his hand on her face. Bela began coughing up water. The spirit watched. Bela fell to her knees. Dean staggered over to her, to help support her through her heaves. Shia got up slowly, touching the back of her head wear she hit an object during her fall.

"Sammy, read faster!" Dean shouted. Bela continued to cough. Suddenly the rain dies down. Bela was coughing but it didn't seem so bad. A creaking sound is heard. The spirit's head slowly turned toward the source of the noise. He saw his brother.

"You... hanged me!" The phantom said to his ghostly brother.

"I'm sorry." The brother cried sympathetically.

"Your own brother."

"I'm so sorry!" The phantom charged his brother's ghost, and the two dissolve into screamed, and a splash of water. Bela was no longer coughing water.

"That was horrible." Shia mumbled as she walked over to Bela and helped her up. Bela nodded at her in thanks and Shia smiled softly.

~November 10, 2007 (approximately 9:17 a.m.~

The Winchester trio were packing, getting ready to leave their squatted residency. The door opened and Bela walked in.

"You all should learn to lock your doors. Anyone could just barge in." Bela said as she walked through the door.

"Anyone just did." Shia said as she continued to pack.

"Did you come to say goodbye or thank you?" Sam asked as he looked up at her.

"I've come to settle affairs. Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother – very clever, Sam. So here." Bela said as she tossed them each a packet of money. "It's fifteen thousand – that should cover it. I don't like being in anyone's debt."

"So ponying up fifteen grand is easier for you than a simple thank you?" Dean asked with wide eyes. Bela smiled faintly. Dean shook his head. "You're so damaged."

"Takes one to know one. Goodbye lads and lass." Bela said as she turned around and left.

"She got style. You gotta give her that." Sam said with a smirk.

"I suppose." Shia said with a shrug.

"You know, guys, we don't know where this money's been." Sam said looking his money.

"No, but I know where it's going..." Dean said with a smile.

"Yeah? Where?" Shia asked as she crossed her arms.

"Baby toys for Lynx's first Christmas, more baby clothes for the next couple months, baby bottles and cups, diapers. After that, we can go out and have a good time at a bar." Dean said as he continued to pack up. Sam and Shia exchanged a look that said 'He's getting so soft.'

~November 10, 2007 (approximately 8:26 p.m.)~

In the Impala, Sam was reading some newspapers. Dean was driving and Shia was looking at text messages on her phone in the backseat.

"So, we're laying low for a couple days at Michael's house?" Sam asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"Hell yeah, I miss my baby. They also have great bars in their town." Dean said as he continued to drive. Sam looked at him and smiled, he knew that Dean loved Lynx more than anything, he'd choose Lynx over the impala and that says a lot. "Hey listen, I've been doing some thinking. Um ... I want you to know I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after the crossroads demon." Sam looked away and sighed. "You know, situation was reversed, I guess I'd've done the same thing. I mean I'm not blind, I see what you're going through with this whole deal, me going away and all that. But you're gonna be okay."

"You think so." Sam said tonelessly.

"Yeah, you'll keep hunting, y'know, you live your life. Help Shia with Lynx. You're stronger than me. You are, you are... you'll get over it. But I want you to know I'm sorry, I'm sorry for... putting you through all this, I am." Dean told Sam, he then looked in the rearview mirror to see Shia staring at him. "I'm sorry, babe, I am. You shouldn't have to go through this. I'm sorry I'm going to leave you with a baby, by yourself. I really am sorry."

"You know what, Dean? Go screw yourself." Sam said with an annoyed tone.

"What?" Dean asked taken back, almost.

"I don't want an apology from you! Shia doesn't need one either. And by the way, I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself."

"Oh, well, excuse me."

"So would you please quit worrying about _me_? I mean that's the whole problem in the first place. I don't want you to worry about me, Dean, I want you to worry about you! I want you to give a crap that you're dying!" Sam said as he raised his voice a little. Dean said nothing but smirked annoyingly. "So, that's it? Nothing else to say for you?"

"We're almost at Michael's house, I can't wait to see Lynx, I heard she's grown a little." Dean said with a smile as he continued to drive. Sam and Shia stared at him. Sam shook his head and sighed in exasperation. Dean's smile faded once his brother and wife were no longer staring at him. They drove on in silence.

~November 11, 2007 (approximately 5:08 p.m.)~

Shia was holding Lynx close to her as the baby started babbling non sense at her mother, Shia smiled at the baby as she placed her down on the changing mat. Dean walked in as Shia changed their daughter.

"Michael wasn't lying when he said she grew a little this pass week." Dean said as he walked over to them.

"Yeah, he definitely wasn't." Shia said agreeing with Dean, she picked up Lynx and threw away the dirty diaper and put Lynx in her walker that she now can fit in and attempt to touch toys in front of her.

"She can keep her head up now? Since when?"

"Dean, she's three months old, of course she can hold herself up a little now. She's doing that and also trying to talk to me all the time." Shia said with a proud smile as she spoke of the activities her daughter can now do.

"She tries to talk to me too, ain't that right chunky monkey?" Dean asked Lynx, and slowly she looked over to her daddy and smiled for a second or two as she started to nibble on her hand.

"There's no denying she's a daddy's girl." Shia said as she leaned back on Dean's shoulder as they watched their baby sit there in her walker that's made for babies her size. Dean wrapped his arms around Shia's waist and pulled her towards him. "I love you, Dean."

"I love you too, babe." Dean said as he kissed Shia passionately. Lynx said babbling as she looked at her parents, Dean looked over at her and picked her up. "I love you too, Lynx. Your daddy big girl, right?"

"Guys, Kate said dinner is ready." Sam said walking into the room his brother, sister in law, and baby share. Sam heard Lynx babble at him and he walked over to her and smiled. "Are you fussing at me, Lynx?" Dean gave Sam his niece and Sam smiled at her with his dipoles showing. Lynx started to drool all over his shirt. "Lynx, I just changed this shirt."

"She likes to get you dirty, Sam. Yeah, she's definitely my kid." Dean said as he walked pass Sam to get to the dinner table. Shia shook her head at Dean and looked at Sam and motioned for the door to go to dinner.

It was moments like this that made Shia, Dean, and Sam forget about all the bad in the world and focus on small special moment with their family.

~so, I'm so sorry that this took so long to write. I started to procrastinate as I began writing this. I'm just really excited for the Christmas episode. Oh, and do you all like me keeping up with the time in the story or no? Let me know what you guys think, okay? I like hearing from you guys. Okay, see ya next time. Byeeee~


	38. A Very Supernatural Christmas (3x08)

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

~December 21, 2007 (approximately 4:27 p.m. at the home of Michael and Kate)~

Shia stared down at the sleeping, four month old baby. Lynx was so big now and it was hard for Shia to grasp the fact that her baby is growing up, her first tooth came in the other day, and she's starting to but just about everything in her mouth. Lynx was starting to sit up by herself and becoming more independent.

Dean walked in the nursery that Kat and Michael set up for his daughter to find Shia watching the baby sleep, he knew that they would have to leave soon to work on another case and he hated the idea because he almost missed her first Thanksgiving, and now he will most definitely miss her first Christmas and it made his heart drop inside.

"Baby?" Dean greeted Shia as he walked up behind her to lay his hand on her lower back as they both watched their daughter sleep. Dean will never stop looking at his daughter in awe, her physical appearance made it clear that she was Dean's daughter. She had lightly tan skin, her hair was sandy blonde, and when her eyes were open they were undeniably hazel. Shia would call her "mini Dean" since she looked just like her daddy.

"I don't like leaving around Christmas, Dean. It's her first Christmas and we won't be here. Some parents we are." Shia said with a scoff, as a tear slowly escaped from one of her brown eyes. Dean looked at his wife and reached over to wipe her tear and kissed her forehead.

"I know. I hate it just as much as you do. I almost missed her first Thanksgiving. How do you think it makes me feel knowing that I will for sure miss my little girl's first Christmas. It's not right but we gotta do what we have to, just to make sure this world is a bit safer for her as she gets older."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, I know you're right." Shia said as she laid her head against Dean's shoulder. "She's getting so big."

"I know. She weighs 12 pounds and 2 ounces. It's all that breast milk she drinks, and they small bits of baby food." Dean said proudly as he continued to watch the sleeping baby. Just then, Kate, wife of Michael walked in with a to go basket full of food for the road.

"Shia? Dean? Uh, Sam said you all should be going now. I don't mean to interrupt your moment." Kate said softly. Shia turned to look at her and smiled, she thought that Kate was very pretty. She had straight blond hair and pale skin, her eyes were gorgeous and her presence in general was just peaceful. Michael was for sure a lucky man.

"No, it's okay, Kate." Shia said as she walked over to her, Dean politely took the basket from Kate and smiled, he then gave Shia a quick kiss and told her he'll be outside waiting, but before he did any of that he made sure to give Lynx a kiss on her forehead. "Just...please, take care of her. That baby is my world."

"I know, Shia. We will protect her and love her as if she was our own. You all have a safe hunt and be back in time for the annual after Christmas dinner meal Michael and I plan every year, but we actually have people to invite over this time. You, and the guys, Ellen and her daughter, Julius and his new girlfriend, and Bobby of course."

"Jules have a new girlfriend?" Shia asked with an eyebrow raised. Kate smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, a girl named 'Natasha' but she prefers to be called 'Tasha.'" Kate informed the curious demi god. Shia shook her head but hugging Kate and walking back over to place a gently kiss on Lynx's forehead. And then, it was time to go.

~December 22, 2007 (approximately 7:03 a.m.) _YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN_ ~

A little girl was looking outside through the glass door while her mom was outside, being interviewed by the Winchesters.

"Um, my daughter and I were in our beds. Mike was downstairs decorating the tree. I heard a thump on the roof and then I heard Mike scream. And now I'm talking to the FBI." The woman said looking from the ground to Shia and Dean Winchester.

"And you didn't see any of it?" Dean asked the common question while being on a case.

"No, he was… he was just gone."

"The doors were locked? There was no forced entry?" Shia asked gently as she became really sympathetic for the woman.

"That's right."

"Does anybody else have a key?" Dean asked.

"My parents."

"Where do they live?"

"Florida." The woman said as he stared at the ground again. Shia and Dean shared a look. Sam walked out of the house.

"Thanks for letting me have a look around, Mrs. Walsh. I think we, uh, got just about everything we need. We're all set." Sam told the woman, known as Mrs. Walsh.

"We'll be in touch." Shia told her, and she nodded. The Winchester trio began to walk down the steps when Mrs. Walsh called out to them.

"Agents..." Mrs. Walsh said. "The police said my husband might have been kidnapped." Dean nodded thoughtfully and said, "Could be."

"Then why haven't the kidnappers called? O-or – or demanded a ransom? It's three days till Christmas. What am I supposed to tell our daughter?" Shia felt her heart sink for the woman, because in a way she knew exactly how she felt when the day comes that she'll have to explain to Lynx why her father isn't there for Christmas.

"We're very sorry." Shia said softly. Then they all walked away as Mrs. Walsh went inside.

"Find anything?" Dean asked his brother as they made their way to the impala.

"Stocking, mistletoe… this." Sam said with a sigh as he gave Dean something out of his pocket.

"A tooth? Where was this?"

"In the chimney."

"Chimney? No way a man fits up a chimney. It's too narrow."

"No way he fits up in one piece." Shia said with a small smirk as she thought of something similar to the joke in a show she watched when everyone is asleep. Dean turned to his and raised an eyebrow.

"Your dark humor is starting to scaring me." Dean told her before he went back to looking at the tooth. "Alright, so, if dad went up the chimney—"

"We need to find out what dragged him up there." Sam said as he got in the passenger seat.

"If he was dragged." Shia commented as she snuggled in the back. Dean shook his head as she started the impala.

~December 22, 2007 (approximately 9:14 a.m.) Motel~

Sam and Shia was searching the Internet for information about demons, the door opened as Dean walked inside, carrying a brown paper bag.

"So, was I right? Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?" Dean asked as he walked over to Sam and Shia.

"Yep. It's, uh, it's actually Dick Van Dyke." Sam said making a reference that only Shia got.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"Mary Poppins?" Shia asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that?"

"Oh come on— never mind." Sam said unbelievably as he waved his hand at his clueless brother.

"Well, it turns out that Walsh is the second guy in town grabbed out of his house this month."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Dean said as pulled up a chair to sit next Shia, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"The other guy get dragged up the chimney, too?" Sam asked. Shia shook her head and commented, "if he was dragged." Both brothers looked at her for a moment and continued talking.

"Don't know. Witnesses said they heard a thump on the roof." Dean shrugged, followed by Sam as he shrugged as well. "So, what the hell do you think we're dealing with?"

"Actually, I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Uh, it's gonna sound crazy." Sam said as he suddenly got insecure about his idea.

"Our life is crazy." Shia said trying to support Sam's idea.

"Yeah. What could you possibly say that sounds crazy to me?" Dean said following his wife in supporting Sam's idea with out even hearing it yet.

"Um… evil Santa." Sam said with a nervous smile. Shia nodded and smiled back at Sam thinking his idea was cute. Dean paused for a moment and then nodded as well.

"Yeah, that's crazy." Dean said dismissing the idea. Shia gave her husband at look that he kind of liked but she meant it as scolding him for not supporting his brother even a little bit.

"Yeah… I mean, I'm just saying that there's some version of the anti-Claus in every culture." Sam said as he showed Dean and Shia some evil Santa pictures. "You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter. Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore."  
"Saying what?"

"Saying ... back in the day, Santa's brother went rogue and now he shows up around Christmas time, but instead of bringing presents, he punishes the wicked."

"By hauling their ass up chimneys?" Dean asked almost unbelievably.

"For starters, yeah." Sam agreed not catching Dean's slight sarcasm.

"So, this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?"

"Well, ah – I'm just saying, that's what the lore says."

"Santa doesn't have a brother. There is no Santa."

"Yeah, I know. You're the one who told me that in the first place, remember?" Sam said as he looked at Dean, who looked down, maybe feeling a little guilty. Sam turned back to his computer and sighed. Shia felt so bad for Sam, she wanted to kick Dean's butt for being an ass to his brother. "Yeah, you know what, I could be wrong. I ...gotta be wrong."

"Maybe, maybe not." Dean said as the guilt was eating him up inside.

"What?"

"I did a little digging. Turns out both victims visited the same place before they got snatched."

"Where?" Shia quickly asked as she looked at Dean for an answer. He just smirked and grabbed his keys waiting for Sam and Shia to get ready.

~December 22, 2007 (approximately 10:42 a.m.) _SANTA'SVILLAGE_ ~

Christmas music played, children were playing, and people wearing Christmas costumes were walking. Shia smiled at each person that walked pass her but the feeling of missing her baby would creep on her as she saw all the mommies and daddies have their baby in extremely warming clothes taking pictures. Shia just wanted a piece of that moment with Lynx. The thought of missing her first Christmas continued to pain her mentally.

"It does kind of lend credence to the theory, don't it?" Dean asked as they all continued to walk, he looked at his wife and followed her gaze. He felt bad to see other families and their babies and he knew what she was feeling. Dean wrapped and arm around Shia's waist pulling her closer to him.

"Yeah, but anti-Claus? Couldn't be." Sam said walking forward with his brother and sister in law.

"It's a Christmas miracle. Hey, speaking of, we should have one this year at the motel since we can't have one with Lynx."

"Have one what?"

"A Christmas." Dean said with a smile. Shia grinned at him but then she saw Sam's expression. Something wasn't right, Sam was a bit bitter towards Christmas.

"No, thanks." Sam said with scoff. "The only reason why I wanted to earlier was because of Lynx."

"No, we'll get a tree, a little Boston market, just like when we were little."

"Dean, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know."

"What are you talking about? We had some great Christmases." Dean said ignoring Sam's attitude. Shia began to feel like their was something deeper than what Sam was displaying.

"Guys, do not start arguing in public. Please." Shia commented to the brothers but as always, they ignored her.

"Whose childhood are you talking about?" Sam asked bitterly.

"Oh, come on, Sam." Dean said trying to get his baby brother in the spirit.

"No! Just… no."

"All right, Grinch." Dean said trying to mask his surprised expression. Dean pulled Shia forward and walked away, while Sam stood still. Suddenly, he notices a reindeer's statue is staring at him, Sam stood there uncomfortably before following Dean and Shia.

"You shouldn't just push the whole Christmas thing on him, Dean." Shia told her husband as they walked, she made sure Sam didn't here them as he lingered back behind them.

"Why not?"

"Well, honey, you won't be here next Christmas. The only reason why he wanted one a couple of days ago was because of Lynx."

"You don't think I know that, Shia?" Dean asked, he was a little irritated with the whole situation but when he saw Shia's face he felt bad. He turned to look at Sam, but he was looking like he was lost in some memory.

"You'd think with the 10 bucks it costs to get into this place, Santa could scrounge up a little snow." Dean said trying to relieve the tension between everyone, Shia grinned at him.

"What?" Sam asked awakening from his daydreaming. Shia raised an eyebrow at him, but avoided saying anything especially in front of Dean.

"Nothing. What are we looking for, again?"

"Um…lore says that the anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets."

"Great. So we're looking for a pimp Santa. Why the sweets?" Dean asked. Shia couldn't help but smile widely at Dean's terrible ponds.

"Think about it, Dean. If you smell like candy, the kids will come closer, you know?" Shia told him but cringed as she realized what she just said. It was gross when you think about it.

"That's creepy. How does this thing know who's been naughty and who's been nice?"

"We don't know." Shia said. A man wearing a Santa Claus costume sat outside a small barn. A woman and boy walk up to him.

"So, Ronny, come sit on Santa's knee. Ah, there you go. You been a good boy this year?" Santa asked the boy.

"Yeah." The boy said nodding happily. Shia watched the scene in front if her and smiled. She then leaned on Dean.  
"Babe, wouldn't it be cute if Lynx took some Christmas pictures right now?" Shia asked Dean.

"Shia, she already has some pictures done."

"More wouldn't hurt."

"Good. Santa's got a special gift for you." The winchester trio heard the Santa man say to the little boy, Ronny, as he cackled creepily.

"Maybe we do know how Santa knows if the kids are naughty or nice." Dean said looking at Santa and the boy speculatively. Ronny's mother took his arm and lead him away from the Santa.

"Time to go, Ronny." The mom said as they walked off. A woman in an elf costume walked up to Sam, Shia and Dean.

"Welcome to Santa's court. Can I escort your child to Santa?" The elf woman said looking at Dean and Sam. Shia smiled at the girl knowing the see thinks that Sam and Dean are a couple.

"Uh…" Sam said lost for words.

"No. No. Uh, but actually my brother here," Dean said as he smacked Sam on the shoulder. "...it's been a lifelong dream of his." Shia glared at Dean, but he gave his wife a goofy grin that made her heart jump.

"Uh, sorry. No kids over… 12." The lady elf said slowly, but her face looked slightly confused.

"No, he's just kidding. We only came here to watch." Sam said so quickly that he didn't realize how gross it sounded. The lady elf looked at Dean, who shook his head. The young elf backed off.

"Eww." She said to Sam before walking off quickly.

"I-I didn't mean that we came here to w— Y— Thanks a lot, Dean. Thanks for that."

Dean looked at Shia and smiled, but she shook her head at him. Dean then laughed but when he looked up. He became serious. Sam, Shia, and Dean watched the Santa leave his chair. It was hard not to notice that the Santa had a bad limp.

"Are you seeing this?" Dean asked the two people beside him. Sam nodded and Shia just continued to stare.

"A lot of people walk with limps, right?" Shia asked still watching the santa man.

"Tell me you didn't smell that. That was candy, guys."

"That was Ripple. I think. Had to be." S said looking from Dean to the "creepy" Santa again.

"Maybe." Dean said as she grabbed Shia's hand.

"We're willing to take that chance?" Shia asked both of the boys with a raised eyebrow.

~December 22, 2007 (approximately 11:27 p.m.) Creepy Santa's House~

Inside the Impala, Sam, Shia and Dean were spying on a simple house that was decorated with Christmas lights; the house belonged to the creepy Santa they witnessed earlier.

"What time is it?" Dean asked for the sixth time within a minute. Shia sighed as she sat back in the backseat closing her eyes slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Same as the last time you asked. Here…" said Sam as he handed Dean a thermos. "...caffeinate." Dean took the thermos from Sam and tried to pour coffee into the cup, but the thermos was empty.

"Wonderful." Dean said. Suddenly, he scoffed. "Hey, Sam."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you the boy that hates Christmas?" Dean asked innocently with a smile. Shia heard the question and couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Dean ..." Sam said slowly, very unimpressed.

"I mean, I admit it. You know, we had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids."

"Bumpy?"

"That was then, Sam, you need to move pass your childhood." Shia softly said as she leaned forward from the backseat tiredly. "We'll do it right this year."

"Look, Dean, and Shia. If you two want to have Christmas, knock yourselves out. Just don't involve me." Sam said with an annoyed tone. Shia and Dean looked at him in disbelief.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Me and my babe making cranberry molds." Dean said with a scoff. Shia chose to say nothing instead she leaned back in her seat. They return to watching the house. Santa, still in his red cap, but in a green tank top, looks outside, then closed his curtains.

"What's up with Saint Nicotine?"

"Oh God. Dean, stop with that puns." Shia told her husband. Just as Dean was about to say something they could hear a women's voice scream, "Oh, my God!" Sam, Shia and Dean jumped out of the car and ran to the house with their guns drawn. Dean looked inside the window of the front door.

"Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that, uh… well, you know, Mr. Gung Ho Christmas might have to blow away Santa." Sam said with a smirk but Dean didn't find it amusing.

"Shia, babe, stay out here in case something comes up." Dean told her; Shia nodded and stayed outside watching her surroundings carefully.

After moments of standing there, Shia realized that whatever was going on Dean and Sam were handling it. The young demi god felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and quickly she grabbed it.

'Everything still planned for Christmas?'

Shia smiled widely and quickly texted back.

'Sure thing.'

Just then the two Winchester brothers walked out of the house where they entered just not long ago. Dean huffed pass Shia and towards the Impala.

"What happened?" Shia asked as walked after Dean.

"He's not our guy and we don't know the words to silent night." Sam said to which Shia stopped in her tracks. The brothers then turned around to look at her.

"What?" Dean asked as he took note on the look she was giving them.

"How could you not know the lyrics to Silent Night?" Shia said with an amused grin; both of the brothers rolled their eyes and walked on.

~December 23, 2007 (approximately 1:12 p.m.) MOTEL~

After interviewing a second family, the Winchester trio sat in the motel room coming up with ideas and researching information. Shia was on the phone talking with her dad.

"Yeah, all right. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, daddy. See ya soon." Shia hung up and turned to the boys. "Well… we're not dealing with the anti-Claus."

"What did Bobby say?" Dean asked his wife as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Uh, that we're morons. He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths. So, Sam, look it up." Shia said as she laid her head on Dean's shoulder; she smiled when Dean placed a kiss on her forehead. Sam ignored the intimacy between the couple and did what he was told and looked up information on his laptop.

"So, what the hell is meadowsweet?" Dean asked after he was finished kissing on his girl.

"It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore."

"Pagan lore?" Shia asked with a raised eyebrow; she started to think about her pagan lore lessons that Bobby but her in when she was sixteen.

"Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifice. It was kind of like a… Chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human."

"Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?" Dean asked.

"It's not as crazy as it sounds, Dean. I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan." Shia said before Sam could.

"Christmas is Jesus's birthday."

"No, Jesus's birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the Church and renamed "Christmas". But I mean, the Yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit – that's all remnants of pagan worship." Sam said as he continued typing.

"How do you know that? What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish?" Dean challenged his baby brother. Shia said nothing and let the scene play out in front of her. Refusing the challenge, Sam sat there and said nothing. "So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan god?"

"Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, god of the winter solstice."

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths…"

"Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying "Come kill us". So fucked up." Shia mumbled as she got up from Dean's lap and walked over to her duffel bag to take a look at her phone again.

"Great." Dean said sarcastically.

"Huh… When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return." Sam said reading off an article he found.

"Lap dances, hopefully." Dean said. Shia looked up and glared at him.

"Mild weather."

"Like no snow in the middle of December in the middle of Michigan." Dean said as he looked out the window.

"For instance." Sam said in agreement.

"You know, I thought that was weird but didn't say much about it." Shia said with both hands on her hips.

"Do we know how to kill it yet?"

"No, daddy's working on that right now. We got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths." Shia told them.

"You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?"

"Let's find out." Sam said as he grabbed his coat while exhaling loudly.

~December 23, 2007 (approximately 2:23 p.m.) Christmas Store~

Sam, Dean and Shia entered the store the song "Deck the halls" was playing. Shia placed her hand in Dean's to which he gladly held on to.

"Know this song, Dean?" Shia whispered in Dean's ear teasing him about not knowing Christmas music. Dean said nothing but rolled his eyes playfully.

"Help you, kids?" The shopkeeper man said as the Winchester walked towards him.

"Uh, hope so. Uh, we were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, uh… well, he hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath, and..." Dean stopped for a moment and turned to Sam. "I don't know, you tell him."

"Sure." Sam said giving Dean and look. Shia couldn't look up from the ground; she was afraid she was going to blow their cover. Sam turned back to the shopkeeper and smiled awkwardly. "It was yummy."

"I sell a lot of wreaths, kids. Usually get woman coming in all the time with catalogs on the wreaths they want."

"Right, right, but – but you see, this one would have been really special. It had, uh, it had, uh, green leaves, um, white buds on it. It might have been made of, uh… meadowsweet?" Sam told the man describing the wreath perfectly.

"Well, aren't you a fussy one?" The shopkeeper asked Sam jokingly. Sam looked taken aback, embarrassed. Shia's grip on Dean's hand got tighter because she felt that at any moment, she was going to burst out in laughter.

"He is…" said Dean as he laughed while Sam looked at him, annoyed.

"Anyway, I know the one you're talking about. I'm all out."

"Huh. Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?" Dean asked the man suspiciously.

"Beats me. I didn't make them."

"Who did?" Shia asked his as she was starting to get serious about the case.  
"Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free." The shopkeeper informed the winchester trio.

"She didn't charge you?" Shia asked.

"Nope."

"Did you sell them for free?" Dean asked curiously.

"Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay a buttload for this crap." The shopkeeper said smugly. Dean raised an eyebrow and nodded proudly.

"That's the spirit." Dean said with a smile.

~December 23, 2007 (approximately 10:13 p.m.) _MOTEL_ ~

Dean opened the door and turned on the light. Sam and Shia followed him in. Almost immediately Shia went to the bed Dean and her shared and laid down.

"How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean asked the two people in the room.

"A couple hundred dollars, at least." Sam said and Shia nodded in agreement.

"This lady's giving them away for free? What do you two think about that?" Dean said as he sat beside Shia's stretched out body; he motioned for her to lay her head on his lap and she did. As soon as she did, Dean started to play with her hair.  
"Well, sounds pretty suspicious." Shia said but it came out as a small moan but neither of the brothers said anything. Sam then took off his jacket and sat on the bed across form Dean and Shia.

"Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?" Dean asked Sam; Shia could hear the joy Dean had in his voice.

"You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" Sam said with slight bitter tone to his voice.

"Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great. I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it."

"Alright. Dude… What's going on with you?"

"What?"

"I mean, since when are you Bing Crosby all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?" Sam asked Dean. Shia closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep but knowing that they were finally talk about the situation that got them tensed made her not want to sleep.

"Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it."

"Then what?" Dean asked.

"I-I mean, I-I just… I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years." Sam said softly shaking his head.

"Well, yeah. This is my last year. Not to mention that I won't be seeing my kid anytime soon, I wanted to enjoy Christmas a little." Dean told his brother; he looked down in his lap to see that Shia was finally asleep. "I mean, man, all I wanted was to give my baby the best first Christmas she could ever imagine. But I can't do that now, so I was wanting to find a way to take it off my mind." Sam nodded slowly, he paused and let out a small sigh.

"I know. That's why I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." Sam finally told his brother part of the reason why he didn't want a Christmas. Dean nodded as he understood his brother reasons. "I just can't." Dean looked away realizing the sadness in Sam's voice. Both of them were silent. Moments later, Dean laid Shia correctly in the bed and cuddles next to her falling asleep with her. Not long after, in his bed, Sam does the same.

~December 24, 2007 (approximately 11:09 a.m.)~

Sam, Shia and Dean walked up to a big white house with Christmas decorations on the lawn.

"This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" Dean noted almost sarcastically. Dean knocked on the door and a older lady, known as Madge, greeted them.

"Yes?" The older lady said sweetly. She came off as kind but way too kind for Shia's liking.

"Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths." Dean said with false excitement.

"Why, yes I am." Madge said with a wide smile. Dean turned to Sam and his wife with a smile.

"Ha! Bingo."

"Yeah? Uh, well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day?" Sam told the elderly woman.

"You were? Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?"

"It is, it sure is. But the problem is, is that all you wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one." Shia said as she loop one of her arms through Dean's.

"Oh, fudge!"

"You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" Dean said sending the woman false hope.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season." Madge said sadly.

"Aww…" said Shia with a small frown.

"Tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?" Dean asked kindly, giving off the vibe that he wanted to make some of his own. Just then, Mr. Carrigan came down the staircase inside the house. He had an old-fashioned pipe and a cardigan. The two of them together are very 1950s.

"Why, the smell, of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer."

"Yeah… um, you mentioned that." Sam said as he raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"What's going on, honey?" The older man said happily as he stood beside his wife.

"Well, just some nice kids asking about my wreaths, dear."

"Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" The man kindly offered them peanut brittle. Dean reached out to take some, but Shia slapped Dean's arm away.

"We're okay. Thank you for your time." Shia said as she led the two boys away from the overly happy, old couple.

~Later that day around night time~

Dean was sharpening a wooden stake, while Sam used the laptop. Five other wooden stakes are on the bed and floor near Dean. Shia was putting her hair up and adjusting her hunting outfit that she bought days ago, Dean has told her numerous of times that she should wear it every hunt. She wore tight leather pants, tight tank top the didn't cover the bottom of her stomach; she also wore combat boot that were comfortable enough to fight in. The room was quiet when suddenly Sam clapped his hands together.

"I knew it! Something was way off with those two." Sam said happily letting the two people in the room that he got some information.

"What'd you find?" Dean asked.

"The Carrigans lived in Seattle, last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here in January. All that Christmas crap in their house – that wasn't boughs of holly. It was vervain and mint." Sam told him.

"Pagan stuff?"

"Serious pagan stuff." Shia said slowly as she folded her arms under her breast.

"So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?"

"I don't know. All I know is we gotta check them out. So, what about Bobby? He's sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?"

"Of course he's sure, my dad is a genius." Shia told Sam as she looked over to the stakes Dean had out for them.

~•~

The Winchester trio sat in the Impala stalking the house for the best opportunity to go in the home of the Pagan gods.

"Now, remember to stay close babe. Don't go in after us. You'll be our back up." Dean told Shia for the fifth time. Shia said nothing, she only nodded. Sam and Dean walked toward the house. Christmas music was playing "O Come All Ye Faithful" Dean picked the lock. Shia watched as the boys walked in and she immediately felt worried. Sam and Dean each held a wooden stake.

Dean looked at the couch that was still covered with plastic, and whispered "See? Plastic." Sam touched it too as Dean shook his head disapprovingly.

Dean went into the living room and looked at all the Christmas decor, while Sam went to the hall, which is also decorated with ornaments and snow globes. Sam went into the kitchen and saw plates of cookies and cakes. He shined his flashlight on the lock of a door.

"Hey, Dean." Sam softly called out to get Dean's attention. Dean and Sam walked downstairs to the basement. Dean pointed his flashlight and found bones covered with blood in a large bowl. They checked the room and realized the whole basement looked like a butchery room rather than a storage room. Sam found a leather bag covered with blood. He looked disgusted and moved to another spot. Sam poked a bag that was hanging from the wall and the bag moved – someone inside was struggling. Madge grabbed Sam's neck from behind and lifted him off the ground as he yelled in surprise. Dean heard him and came running.

"Sam!"

Madge pushed Sam against a wall and held him by the throat. Dean ran to him and tried to stake Madge, but Mr. Sunshine grabbed his arm and knocked his head against a wall. Dean fell to the ground, unconscious. Madge looked at her husband, who smiled and nodded and looked back at Sam, who was struggling to breathe.

"Gosh, I wish you boys hadn't come down here. Now, I wonder...where's the demi god?"

Sam moved his flashlight to the Carrigans' faces, which appeared monster-like when in the beam of the flashlight but turn back to normal out of the light. Madge slammed Sam's head hard against the wall and allowed him to drop to the ground.

~•~

Shia sat outside of the Impala tapping her foot against the pavement, it's been thirty minutes and they still weren't back. Shia knew that there was something wrong but she promised Dean that she'd wait until it was forty five minutes after they went in. Shia couldn't bare the bad feeling in her heart so she quickly ran over to the window to the kitchen area only to find Dean and Sam tied up to chairs. Shia shook her head and continued to watch making sure she wasn't seen. "Idiots should have let me gone with them."

Shia had to watch the boys go under some massive pain but the worst was yet to come.

Madge went closer to Dean and sliced his arm just like her husband did to Sam moments ago.

"You bitch!" Dean screamed. Shia had to cover her eyes for a moment.

"Oh, my goodness me! Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, do you know what I say when I feel like swearing?" Dean looked Madge in the eyes, as she gestured with her sharp knife in cheesy emphasis. "Fudge."

"I'll try and remember that!" Dean said as he panted. Mr. Carrigan picked up a pair of pliers.

"You boys have no idea how lucky you are. There was a time when kids came from miles around, just to be sitting where you are." The pagan god stood in front of Sam with the pliers.

"What do you think you're doing with those?" Sam said as he began to panic. The monster smiled at Sam.

"You fudging touch me again and I'll fudging kill you!" Dean said as he looked at Madge. The older woman smiled proudly at Dean and said, "Very good!"

Shia shook her head and mumbled, "I can't much more of this. Fuck! What did I do? I can't just burst in there, that's suicide." Shia looked at her surroundings and spotted at family about to ring the doorbell to the house; she could hear Dean say "someone should get that." Moment's later the pagan gods left the room, Shia quickly orbed in the kitchen. Dean and Sam's face lit up.

"Baby, I'm so glad to see you." Dean whispered to his wife as she untied them. Shia quickly kissed their foreheads and motioned for them to go into the next room.

~•~

Madge and Mr. Carrigan opened the door to the kitchen and hurried inside.

"Now, where were we?" Madge said happily but frowned when she saw that Sam and Dean were no longer in their chairs. The Carrigans saw one of the doors closed, and turned around to see the other door closed too. Sam and Dean were each standing behind one of the doors, as the pagan gods tried to open them. Shia was looking around for something to kill them with. Dean pulled out a drawer to hold his door closed and went to help Sam.

"What do we do now? The evergreen stakes are in the basement!" Dean said as he leaned one hand on the door.

"Well, we need more evergreen, Dean!" Sam said but then he looked at the Christmas tree in the room where they stood. "I think I just found us some more. Shia go find the stakes in the basement just in case." Shia nodded and orbed to the basement. Sam looked at a large cabinet next to the door. "Help me get this."

Sam and Dean moved the cabinet in front of the door and pushed the Christmas tree over. They break branches from the tree to use as stakes. All is silent when they approach the kitchen door. Suddenly the pagan man tackled Dean to the ground. Madge walked up to Sam.

"You little thing." She said, her face momentarily distorted. "I loved that tree." Sam raised his stake. Madge hit Sam hard and he crashed into the couch and onto the floor. The pagan man punched Dean a number of times in the face. Madge walked closer to Sam and he hit her with the branches. Madge was about to attack Sam when he stabbed her with the Christmas tree stake.

"Madge!" The monster screamed as he looked at his dead wife. Sam pushed the stake deeper and Madge groaned, while Dean took the opportunity and hit the pagan god with his branches. Sam pushed the stake in further and Madge fell to the ground, dead. Dean stabbed Mr. Carrigan who screamed in pain, and Dean pulled it out and stabbed him again. The pagan gods laid dead next to each other. Sam breathed heavily, while Dean sighed in relief. They look at the dead bodies.

"Merry Christmas." Sam said as he looked at Dean, smiling briefly and sighed. Just then, Shia orbed in the room.

"Damn things had the stakes hidden." Shia said as she held up the stakes, but then she noticed the dead bodies on the floor and frowned. "I missed out on a fight again?! Damn it!" The Winchester brothers smiled at her and motioned for them to leave before cops would come.

~December 25, 2007 (approximately 12:45 a.m.) MOTEL~

Sam looked touched with his own memory. Ella Fitzgerald's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" played as Dean and Shia walked into the room. They looked surprised because Sam had decorated the room with a Christmas tree and "Merry Christmas" sign.

"Hey! You get the beer?" Sam asked holding a cup of eggnog. Shia smiled widely at Sam while Dean looked amazed.

"What's all this?" Dean asked motioning at the decorations in the room.

"What do you think it is? It's – it's Christmas." Dean looked at Sam, who let out a deep breath.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked as he took off his jacket.

"Here, uh ... try the eggnog." Sam said as he gave Shia and Dean a cup. "Let me know if it needs some more kick." Sam held out a bottle of whiskey. Shia didn't drink the eggnog but Dean did; he sipped it, coughed, and looked surprised at the taste.

"No, we're good." Dean told his brother. Shia giggled at Dean's expression.

"Yeah?" Sam asked happily.

"Yeah." Dean said with a smile.

When Sam looked away, Dean changed his expression on the eggnog, like it tasted toxic. Shia gave her glass to Dean and he gave her a look.

"Good. Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do… Christmas stuff, or whatever." Sam said awkwardly. Dean looked at the Christmas tree, which was decorated with lights and car air fresheners.

"All right, first things first." Dean said as he sat down in his seat, pulling Shia down with him. Sam sat on the couch; Dean took three packages wrapped in brown paper from a plastic bag and held them out to Sam. "Merry Christmas, Sam."

"Where'd you get these?" Sam asked with a wide smile.

"Someplace special." Dean told him and Sam gave him a look.

"The gas mart down the street." Shia end up telling Sam. Sam laughed. "Go on, Sam. Open them up."

"Well, great minds think alike, guys." Sam reached under the couch for three packages wrapped in newspaper, which he gives two to Dean and one to Shia.

"Really?" Dean asked surprised and took the gifts.

"There you go."

"Come on." Sam opened his first gift, which was two porn magazines. Shia looked at Dean and frowned.

"Really, Dean?" Shia whispered to him. Dean gave her a smug look and shrugged.

"Skin mags!" Sam said with a laugh. Dean nodded, satisfied with Sam's reaction. "and…Shaving cream."

"You like?" Dean asked

"Yeah. Yeah."

It was Dean's and Shia's turn to open their presents. Dean chuckled and unwrap the gifts.

"Look at this." Dean said proudly as he lifted his presents, it was a candy bar and a bottle of oil. "Fuel for me and fuel for my baby. These are awesome. Thanks."

"A supply of ponytail holders and more sunglasses since Lynx broke my other ones!" Shia said proudly when she opened the newspaper to find two gifts inside. "Thanks, Sam, I love it."

"Good." Sam said with a grin. Suddenly, there was a bit of sadness in his face.

"Merry Christmas, y'all." Dean said as he raised his glass of eggnog.

"Yeah. Yeah." Sam said as he lifted his eggnog and made a toast with Dean's glass. "Here, Merry Christmas." Sam, Shia and Dean were silent, knowing that this could be their last Christmas together. They each took a drink of their eggnog and Dean whistled softly at the taste.

"Hey, Dean, y–." Sam looked sad and about to say something, but he hesitated, then sighed and looked at Dean again. "Do you feel like watching the game?"

"Absolutely." Dean said as he smiled in relief.

"Alright." Sam said with a smile. Sam stood up and turned on the TV. They watched the winter football game. Sam glanced at Dean and Dean smiled. He glanced at Sam and took another drink of his eggnog. Shia smiled at the two brothers and then suddenly remembered her plan, she grabbed her phone and texted Kate.

'Lynx still up? You have her ready?'

Moments later.

'Yeah, she's up...unfortunately. Haha. We have her ready.'

'Okay, I'll be there in a minute.'

"Uh, guys. I have to go to the bathroom. You two enjoy your game. I'll be back in a moment." Shia said as she kissed their foreheads once again before entering the bathroom and orbing to Michael's house. Kate honestly had Lynx ready to be orbed back to the motel; the baby was in her carrier smiling happily at her mommy once she saw her. Shia had to orb back the baby bag, Lynx and the carrier, and also the four gifts that Dean and Sam bought her about a week ago.

Shia was now back in the bathroom, she picked up Lynx from her carrier and snuggled he baby against her chest. Lynx drooled all over her mommy to which it made Shia smile widely. Shia quickly grabbed the gifts while holding Lynx in one arm. Luckily, they boys weren't paying attention to her when she walked out the bathroom. Shia quickly laid the gifts on the bed that Sam sleeps in and then she spoke.

"Guys, I think Lynx would like for you all to say hello to her before she ends up falling asleep." At Shia's words, Sam and Dean's head turned quickly to look at her. Dean's heart melted to she his daughter in Shia's arms staring at him and Sam. Dean quickly walked over to Shia and gladly took Lynx out of Shia's arms.

"My chunky monkey! Daddy misses you so much!" Dean said as he lifted the baby over his head to blow kisses over her small stomach; the baby cooed happily at her daddy as she touched his face. Sam and Shia stood back and watched the interaction between baby and daddy, they have never seen the truly soft side of Dean Winchester before Lynx was born; and now that's she here it was nice to see Dean open up in a certain way.

"We can open her presents up in the morning if you want, she's ours for the next couple of days. We just have to be sure to go to the dinner Kate and Michael set up. They've worked really hard on it." Shia told the boys as she kissed her baby's forehead while Dean cradled her to kiss chest.

"Shia, this is the best gift anyone could have given me; my sweet baby girl." Dean whispered as he got slightly emotionally. Sam smiled at his brother watching him, his wife, and baby interact. They for sure looked like a small family.

Minutes passed and somehow, Lynx was laid over Sam's chest while he slept in bed. Shia and Dean watched the niece and uncle moment. Dean pulled Shia by the waist and kissed her softly.

"Thanks you, baby. So much." Dean said for the tenth time and each time he did it, Shia would blush. "Don't think I forgot your Christmas gift."

"What?" Shia said amusingly but yet slightly confused. Dean walked over to Sam's duffel bag and pulled out a scrapbook. He smiled before handing it to Shia. When she opened it their were pictures of Lynx and Dean from when she was just born up until now. Shia's heart melted when she saw the Christmas picture her, Sam, Dean, and Lynx took in the studio mall about two weeks ago. They looked so normal and happy. "Dean—"

"You don't have to say anything. But, you do have to do something for me."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Shia said shyly with a grin. Dean went over to the radio and turned up slightly and the song slowly played "Baby, it's cold outside." Dean reached his hand out for her to grab and she did right after placing the book on the bed they shared.

They couple swayed to the music happily and romantically. Dean then pulled out a mistletoe and placed above their heads. Shia chuckled at his cheesiness but kissed him anyways. It was moments like this that made the Winchester's sane.


	39. Malleus Maleficarum (3x09)

I put a spell on you, because you're mine. -Nina Simone

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Malleus Maleficarum (3x09)

~Decmeber 28, 2007 (approximately 6:23 p.m. at the house of Michael and Kate)~

Dean bounced his daughter, Lynx, in the air as the sound of her cooing at her daddy filled the room. Shia sat on the soft coach watching the scene between daddy and daughter. Sam was sat at a small table that was in the living room; he was secretly reading ways to get Dean out of his demon deal. Just then, Bobby walked in the room with a case of beer.

"You kids sit around and do nothing when Kate and Michael slave over the hot stove in the kitchen?" Bobby said in a a kiss on his cheek. Sam and Dean walked towards the old hunter with a friendly smile. Lynx was positioned on Dean's chest as he held her posture carefully.

"Hey Bobby." Sam and Dean said in unison; Shia smiled at them while Bobby looked at them with amusement just before nodding at them. The older man eyes then shifted at his granddaughter staring at him, Bobby walked over to Dean and held his hand out asking for permission to hold Lynx. Dean allowed the baby to lean over to Bobby as the hunter grabbed his grabbed the baby out of his hand.

"Pawpaw's favorite baby." Bobby said leaving a kiss on Lynx's forehead as she laid her small hand on Bobby's bread; the four month old baby pulled on the old hunter's beard causing Shia to quickly untangle the baby's hand from her dads beard. "She's got a strong grip."

"You're telling me." Shia said with a smile as she looked at her baby.

"We're here!" The voice of a familiar young lady ringed through the room. Shia turned around to see Jo Harvelle standing there with a pot full of food in her hand; she had her hair down as it flawlessly reached her mid back, she wore a pretty blouse that complimented her make up well.

"Who invited Jo?" Shia whispered into Dean's ear bitterly; Dean rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Didn't Kate tell you that Jo and Ellen were coming?" Dean asked his wife. Shia stood there for a moment and slowly nodded.

"She could have, must have slipped my mind."

"Hey there, Jo." Dean greeted the thin girl with a smile, then Sam walked over and hugged the girl.

"Where's the baby?" Ellen said happily and loudly as she walked in the living room. "Jo, go in the kitchen and give the pot to Kate." Jo nodded and did what she was told. "Where's little Lynx? I got her something."

"She's right here." Bobby said motioning to the infant who was being held close to him, Ellen's eyes went wide as she looked at the grown baby.

"She's gotten so big!"

"Oh yeah, she eats a lot!" Dean said with a grin as he looked at his baby. Ellen stood in front of the infant and smiled; she took in the baby's physical appearance and couldn't believe her eyes.

"She looks just like you, Dean."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Dean grinned as glanced at his baby once again. As Ellen was about to speak, Kate walked out happily.

"Food is ready to be served!"

"Finally." Dean said before taking his daughter from Bobby so he could get her in her highchair before everyone sits down to eat. Everyone was now seated, little Lynx was in the highchair sat beside Shia, so she could feed her some baby food.

"It's really nice for you all to join us." Kate said sweetly as she passed the mashed potatoes to Sam. The sound of the front door opening and closing got the attention from all the hunters, seconds later Julius walked in the dining room accompanied with a short, pale girl with long brown hair; her eyes were a beautiful green, she stood shyly beside the young demi god man.

"Uh, sorry I'm late. Guys, this is Natasha. Tasha, babe, this my family." Julius said softly chuckling to himself before introducing the young lady to everyone. Tasha looked at everyone and smiled.

"Hello," she said and the sound of her British accent filled the air.

"Why don't you two sit down and eat?" Shia offered the young couple. Julius led Tasha to her seat which was beside the tallest Winchester. Julius sat beside Jo, who smiled widely at him. Tasha saw the interaction and had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Shia smirked noticing how easily the new girl got.

"So, what do you do, Tasha?" Michael asked the young woman as he cut himself a slice of turkey and ham.

"I hunt with Julius, I balance that with my studies."

"And what do you study?" Shia asked.

"Witchery. I'm a natural born witch, it means I actually have powers instead of all that bones and rituals shit." Tasha quickly explained before all the hunters could react. Shia looked at Dean to see him stare at the girl skeptically, he didn't trust her for one good reason and it was Lynx. He didn't want the girl potentially making a bad move on his kid. Shia placed her hand on Dean's thigh and squeezed it.

"If she was evil, Lynx would have already used her shield. Remember?" Shia whispered in her husband's ear. Dean slowly, but surly came down for everyone's sake.

"So, Kate, did you make some chocolate cake? I bet it's delicious." Ellen said trying to relieve the thick tension in the air, which she succeeded.

"Oh. Yes, I did." Kat said sweetly.

~January 19, 2008 (approximately 9:32 a.m. in the home of the Dutton's)~

Dean and Shia was questioning Paul about his late wife while Sam was searching the bathroom for clues as to what happened.

"She was so scared. I couldn't help; I couldn't do anything to stop it. And I've talked to the police, and I've talked to the medical examiner and no one can explain it." Paul told the two hunters sadly. Shia felt bad for the man, he looked so broken and lost.

"Well that's why they put the call in to us Mr. Dutton."

"But the CDC, that's disease control right? What do you think; it's some kind of virus?"

Inside the bathroom Sam was accompanied by Julius' girlfriend, Tasha. In fact, she was the one that called them about this case. Sam closed the door to the bathroom and looked more thoroughly through things while Tasha stood in the one spot with her eyes closed as she tried to visualize what happened to the young lady.

"We're not ruling out anything yet. Mr. Dutton did Janet have any enemies?" Shia's voice could heard from the other room.

"I'm sorry?" Paul asked confused.

"Anyone that might have a reason to hurt her?" Dean asked.

"Wait, what are you saying? That somebody poisoned her?"

In the bathroom, Tasha looked under the sink in the bathroom and found something; she looked at it and shook her head.

"Amateurs." Tasha mumbled as she motioned for Sam to come look at this. The questioning continued in the bedroom.

"I'm just saying we have to cover every base here."

"Well, I mean, what kind of poison? You think a person could have done this?"

"Would anyone want to?" Shia asked as she eyed the man, he was becoming nervous and frightened which did not go unnoticed by the demi god.

"What?! No, no, there's just no one that could've-," Paul said but didn't finish his sentence as Sam and Tasha opened the bathroom door.

"Mr. Dutton?" Dean asked trying to gain the man's attention.

"Uh, everyone loved Janet." Sam nodded at Dean and Shia so they could know that Sam and Tasha were both done investigating.

"Okay. Thank you very much; I think we've got everything we need. We'll get out of your way now." Shia said kindly as she left the room with the others following her.

~•~

It was raining while Shia, Sam , Tasha, and Dean walked out of the house toward the Impala.

"That dude seem a little evasive to you?" Dean asked whoever was listening, but he mainly aimed that question at Shia.

"Me and Tasha wouldn't know, she was under a sink, pulling this out." Sam took a hex bag out of his pocket and handed it to Dean and they all stopped as Dean took the bag from Sam and opened it.

"Hex bag." Sam told his brother.

"Awww gross." Dean said with pure disgust.

"Yeah, there are bird bones, rabbit's teeth. This cloth is probably cut from something Janet Dutton owned." Tasha informed the eldest Winchester. Dean looked back at the house for a second and turned back handing the bag to Sam and started walking towards the Impala again.

"So we're thinking witch?" Dean asked.

"Uh, yeah, and not some new age wicked water douser either. This is Old World black magic Dean, I mean, warts and all." Sam said before getting in the Impala. Both of the women looked at each other and got in the backseat.

"I hate witches." Dean said as he drove. Tasha couldn't help but scoff when the words reached her ears. Dean looked in the rearview mirror. "What?"

"I don't know if you noticed but I'm a witch, and what you said was mean."

"Do you do that voodoo crap?"

"Uh, no." Tasha said slowly because she was a bit confused.

"Then shut your cakehole, I ain't talking to you." Dean told the girl with pale skin and brown hair. Shia shot Dean a disapproving look as well as Sam. For some reason, Dean did not like Tasha; he keeps trying to look pass the whole 'I'm a witch' thing but he can't, so therefore he doesn't like her.

"Anyways, as I was saying. They're always spewing their bodily fluids everywhere."

"Pretty much." Sam agreed as he looked through the hex bag again.

"It's creepy, you know, it's down right unsanitary."

"Yeah, well someone definitely had it out for Janet Dutton."

"Yeah, someone who snuck into that house and planted the bag. So what are we thinking, we're uh, looking for some old craggy blair bitch in the woods." Dean said as he parked the car on the side of a curb.

"No it could be anyone. Neighbor, coworker, man, woman that's the problem Dean, they're human, they're like everyone else." Tasha informed Dean as she looked over Sam's shoulder and examined the objects Sam held.

"Great. How do we find 'em?"

"This wasn't random; someone in Janet Dutton's life had an ugly axe to grind. Hopefully, this isn't over some guy. But as always, We find the motive-" Shia was saying but Dean finished for her.

"We find the murderer."

"Sounds about right." Sam said agreeing with Shia and Dean. Dean started the Impala and pulled away from the curb, driving off in the rain. Just then Tasha's phone started to vibrate, the I.D. said it was Julius; she smiled and quickly checked her message but once she read it, she frowned.

"Oh no." Tasha said slowly. Shia glanced over at her and raised her eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" Shia asked her.

"Julius was trying to recite a spell out of my family's book...long story short; it didn't go too well."

"Oh my God, is he okay?!"

"Oh, he's fine. It's just...I have to help him, meaning that I need to go. So, excuse me."

"But—" Before Shia could say another word the witch was gone.

"I thought demi gods were the only people who could to that?..." Dean said his girlfriend who sat in the backseat.

"We are the only ones who orb. She disappeared within a blink of an eye."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Dean."

"You've been a little off since we got here. You pregnant again?"

"What?! No! It's just this town makes me a bit uneasy. That's all." Shia said quickly, she was a bit taken aback with Dean's question.

"Hey, guys...I think we should follow Paul around. I have a feeling that whoever's doing all of this is not going to stop until he or she has their full revenge." Sam told his brother and sister in law.

"I'm a step ahead of you, Sammy." Dean said with a smirk.

~January 19, 2008 (approximately 10:13 p.m.)~

Paul was chewing and holding his burger as the radio goes static and the song changes to I Put a Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Paul laid down his burger on the passenger seat of his car as maggots fell out onto the wrapper. He reached and turned off the radio; picking up his burger again he took another bite and began to chew but made a face and went to reach in his mouth lifting his burger and looking down at it. He saw that it was covered in maggots.

"Aah, oh!" Paul shouted out in disgust. Paul quickly put down the burger as "I Put a Spell on You" came back on the radio and he leaned forward as he started to choke. He opened the door of his car falling out onto the pavement hunched over as Dean, Shia and Sam arrives in the Impala. Dean and Shia ran over to Paul and yelled at Sam.

"Check the car!" Shia and Dean yelled in unison.

Sam searched under the dashboard and steering column as Dean and Shia tried to help Paul.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Got it!" Sam yelled victoriously. Shia sighed in relief. Sam got up, removing the hex bag he found as Dean pulled Paul up from the pavement.

"Come on." Dean said. Sam lit the hex bag on fire and dropped it to the ground as it glowed with blue and green flames. Paul recovered from choking; he leaned back against his car.

"You okay?" Shia asked him softly as she sat down beside him.

"What the hell is happening to me?!" Paul shouted frantically at her. Shia flinched for a second, Dean grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up.

"Someone murdered your wife and now they're trying to kill you, that's what's happening to you." Dean explained. Paul's eyes went wide.

"That's impossible! There's no way-"

"If we hadn't have been following you, you'd be a doornail right now. Now who wants you dead?"

"I-uh..." Paul said as he stared down at the ground.

"Come on think." Dean said.

"There's a woman-uh..." The man said. Shia rolled her eyes; she knew where the situation was heading.

"A woman, okay?"

"An affair- a mistake, she was un-balanced, she was blackmailing me and I put an end to it a week ago."

"What's her name?" Sam asked.

"Wha–What could she have to do with-?..." Paul asked as his face showed complete confusion.

"Paul! What is her name?" Dean asked urgently.

"What's her name Paul?" Shia asked with a more calm approach.

~•~

Dean picked the lock and entered Amanda's house followed closely by Sam and Shia with their guns drawn. They entered the room and found Amanda lifeless on the table covered in blood and switched on the light. The flames are still burning, so this is very shortly after she died.

"That's a curveball." Dean said as he stared at Amanda's lifeless body. Sam and Shia grimaced at the sight. Shia's stomach started turning as she took in the energy of the house.

'Demons.' Shia thought.

"Yeah. Gross." Sam said.

They approached Amanda's body; Dean lifted her right arm with the barrel of his gun then looked at the other as well.

"Three per wrist, vertical. She wasn't foolin' around." Dean said. Sam put his gun in the back of his jeans and bent down to look at the scattered remnant of the altar, holding his nose to the smell of the burnt rotten food. Shia kept her gun in her hand as she walked around the home of Amanda looking at products she used only moments ago.

"Yeah, looks like she was working some heavyweight evil here." Sam said as he continued to examine the altar.

"Yep." Dean said. Dean turned around, then jumped back, startled – he nearly walked into a rabbit, hanging from the ceiling, dead. "Oh god! Freakin' witches! Seriously man, come on!"

"Guess we know where she got the rabbit's teeth from." Sam said.

"Well, Paul sure knows how to pick 'em huh? It's like Fatal Attraction all over again."

"Yeah."

"And why does the rabbit always get screwed in the deal?! The poor little guy." Dean said sadly as he stared at the dead rabbit. Shia turned around and raised her eyebrow.

"Didn't know you cared so much." Shia said as she walked over to him.

"Well, of course I care." Dean said quickly.

"You know what I don't get, Dean? If she was so bent on revenge, why do this?" Sam said mostly to himself, like thinking out loud.

"Well, she got Janet Dutton, thought she finished off Paul, decided to cap herself and make it a spurned lover's hat-trick."

"Maybe." Shia said but then she started to look under the glass table that Amanda was on. Sam knew what she was up to and started to look around.

"I mean, this doesn't exactly look like the TV room of a bright and stable person you know?" Dean said.

"No, but then..." Shia reached around and pulled out another hex bag that was tucked under the table and stood up tossing it to Dean.

"There's that." Sam said as he saw the hex bag get tossed to Dean. Shia sighed as she placed her hands on her waist.

"Another hex bag? Come on!" Dean said with irritation. Dean opened the bag to find similar contents of the bag they found in Janet's bathroom and he tossed it on the table reaching for his phone.

"Looks like we got a hit, huh? A little witch-on-witch violence?" Dean said.

"I guess."

"Guys, if there's two witches in town..there must be more." Shia told them but it was clear that they ignored her. Dean dialed the phone and held it up to his ear.

"I'd like to report a dead body, 309 Mayfair Circle. My name? Yeah, sure my name is—" Dean clicked the phone shut cutting himself off.

"Why are witches ganking each other?" Dean asked his brother.

"I don't know, but I think maybe we got a coven on our hands." Sam said as they both walked out of the house passing Shia.

"I literally just basically said that." Shia said to herself before she followed the boys out. "So, what are we gonna do?" Shia asked Sam and Dean once they were on their way to the motel they stayed in.

"Interview the neighbors. I kind of wished Tasha was here, think she'd be able to tell?" Dean said, and as soon as he did Sam and Shia looked at him.

"Did you just say you wished Tasha was here?" Sam asked him with his eyebrow raised and mouth gaped a little.

"Yeah, she'd know how to deal with this quick and easily."

"Dean, you're scaring me." Shia said bluntly as possible.

"Fine. I'll stop being nice."

~January 20, 2008 (approximately 9:39 a.m.)~

Shia laid in the backseat of the Impala while Dean and Sam interviewed a neighbor of Janet and Amanda; she's been feeling sick ever since they got in this town. She knew what the problem was, it was demons. There about two in this town and she can't put her finger in who it is.

Sam and Dean then moments later got back in the Impala.

"So, how'd it go?" Shia asked as she leaned up once Dean drove off.

"Those ladies were definitely weird." Sam said.

"Hmm. I believe it."

~January 20, 2008 (approximately 8:32 p.m.)~

The Impala was driving down a country road through a fog. Dean was driving and Sam was in the passenger's seat while Shia sat in the back on her phone texting Bobby about her daughter, Lynx.

"Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick. Did you see that victory garden of hers? Belladonna, wolfsbane, mandrake, not to mention that little flinch she threw when we mentioned the occult." Dean said mentioning the case to Sam. Shia put down her phone and decided to listen to the boys speak.

"Well, she's definitely had a good run lately, gone up a few tax brackets; won almost too many raffles. Kinda thing a little black magic always helps with." Sam said.

"Yeah."

"I don't think she's alone either. Looks like 'MRS. Renee Van Allen' has won almost every craft contest she has entered in the past three months." Sam said as her read through an article.

"A regular Martha Stewart, huh?" Shia asked sarcastically with a light chuckle.

"Except for the devil worship, I'm thinking that was the coven we met back there, minus one member." Dean said as he drove down the dark road.

"Amanda was clearly going off the reservation. What do you think, they killed her to keep up appearances?" Sam asked Dean.

"Seems like an appearance kind of crowd, don't you think?" Shia said for Dean as she leaned forward on her seat.

"Yeah." Sam said with a chuckle.

"If they killed the nut-job, should we uh, thank them or what?" Dean asked.  
"They're working black magic too, Dean. They need to be stopped." S said. Dean and Shia shared a look before Dean said a word. "'Stopped' like stopped?" Sam gave him a look that says 'of course'.

"They're human, Sam." Shia said a bit taken aback by Sam's wording.

"They're murderers." Dean looked at Sam for a second with surprise look and then shrugged in agreement. Shia stared at Sam with disappointment, she felt that it wasn't like Sam to easily say he'd kill some humans.

"Burn witch, burn." Dean said with a smile. Dean continued to drive when the Impala stuttered and started to choke up. "What the hell?"

"Babe, what's going on with the engine?" Shia said as she looked at Dean worried.

"How the hell would I know?" The head lights of the Impala flickered on and then back on again as it slowly came to a stop in front of a figure sanding in the middle of the road. The view from where Shia was sitting inside of the Impala showed that it is Ruby, the demon. Sam got out of the car first and Dean and Shia followed.

"Ruby." Sam said once he was in front of her.

"Sam, listen to me, there's no time." Ruby said quickly.

"For what? What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"You have to get out of town."

"So this is Ruby, huh?" Dean said bitterly. Shia stood behind him with her arms folded, not really wanting to get in the conversation. Dean raised the colt and aimed it at the demon, cocking it. "Never had the pleasure."

"Dean, don't start." Shia whispered in his ear, but Dean ignored her.

"Dean!" Sam yelled as if he was scolding his brother.

"I was hoping you'd show up again." Dean said ignoring his brother as well.

"Point that thing somewhere else." Ruby said bitterly. Shia didn't like Dean's reaction to the demon, but she also didn't like the tone Ruby had with her husband.

"Hahahaha! Right." Dean said a bit sarcastically.

"Sam, please. Go. Get in the car and don't look back." Ruby went back to warning Sam.

"Why? I don't understand." Sam asked not really understanding as to why Ruby is here anyways.

"Hey, hot stuff, we can take care of a few kitchen witches, thanks."

"Dean.." Shia said scolding him. Dean turned to look at her and gave her a look but then turned back to stare at Ruby.

"I'm not talking about witches, you jackass. Witches are whores. I'm talking about who they serve." Ruby said.

Dean, Shia and Sam all looked confused for a second, but then the information dawned on Sam.

"Demons. They get their power from demons." Sam said in disbelief. Shia thought about it as well; she looked up and said, "Oh, that's fucking wonderful."

"Yeah. And there's one here, now." Ruby said ignoring Shia.

"Oh, what, you mean besides you?" Dean snapped.

"Sam, it knows you're in town and it's gonna come after you and its way more than you can handle."

"Oh come on, what is this huh? Please tell me you're not listening to this crap!" Dean said to Sam. Shia could feel the irritation Ruby had for Dean.

"I'm starting to agree with Dean, Sam."

"Put a leash on your brother and in law, Sam, if you wanna keep them."

"Excuse me, bitch?" Shia asked with an eyebrow raised as she walked a step towards Ruby.

"Guys, look, just chill out." Sam told Dean and Shia as he tried to get rid of the thick tension that filled the air.

"No! No! She's messing with your head, God knows why, that's who they are!" Dean yelled out at his younger brother, he was getting really sick of Sam being gullible.

"I'm telling you the truth." Ruby said as she stared hardly at Dean and Shia.

"We're having a hard time believing you, princess." Shia said.

"And I'm telling you to shut up bitch." Dean countered quickly right after he heard Shia say something to Ruby.

"I'm sorry, why are you two even a part of this conversation?!"

"Oh, I don't know maybe because he's my brother, you black eyed skank!"

"Oh, right, right. You care about your brother so much. That's why you're checking out in a few months, leaving him all alone with your wife who'll b a sobbing mess after you're long gone." Ruby said insulting Dean and Shia. Shia's body tensed for a moment as she got a bit upset.

"Shut up." Shia told Ruby.

"At least let me try and save him, since you won't be here to do it any more."

" She said shut up!" Dean yelled; he moved to fire the Colt at Ruby.

"Dean no!" Sam shouted, he pushed Dean's arm away from Ruby as he fired the Colt, and Dean tried to fight against Sam's hold and they lock arms and both look to where Ruby was standing to see that she has vanished. Dean and Shia gave Sam a look of disappointment and goes back to get in the Impala, as Sam looked around in vain for Ruby.

~January 20, 2008 (approximately 9:40 p.m.)~

Dean walked in first; he switched on the light as Shia and Sam followed right behind him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Dean asked Sam. Shia looked between the brothers and thought that it was best to stay out of whatever was going on, so she decided to sit on the bed her and Dean shared.

"What?! What the hell was *I* thinking?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"She's a demon, Sam. Period. All right? They want us dead, we want them dead." Dean told his baby brother who considered that he had a thick skull at the moment for trusting a demon.

"Oh, that's funny; I remember that demon chick in Ohio, Casey? You didn't want her dead." Sam said with a scoff. Shia looked at Dean and have him a "What?" face.

"You didn't want her dead, Dean?" Shia asked as she folded her arms, waiting for an answer.

"So? She wasn't stringing me along like a fish on a hook." Dean said ignoring Shia's glare.

"No one's stringing me along!" Sam said, he stopped for a moment to get him from Shia but she did agree with Dean. She didn't trust Ruby, it's not because she's a demon. It's because she feels that there's something off about her. Okay, well, it might be because she's a demon. "Look, I know it's dangerous, that she is dangerous, but like it or not, she's useful."

"No! We kill her before she kills us."

"Kill her with what? The gun she fixed for us?"

"Whatever works." Dean said with a shrug. Shia sighed; she didn't want to be around the argument so she decided to go into the restroom.

Shia stared at her reflection; she felt as if she looked tired and defeated. She had a lot of things to worry about. Shia thought is was hard to juggle a marriage, a baby, the hunting life, and new powers. And the fact that will be dead soon is not helping her, at all. She would like a way out of all the madness, a place where her, her husband, her baby, and Sam could be happy. God knows they deserve it. Moments passed by and the arugment seem to have died down but the Sam's panicked voice allowed Shia to think that something else was going on.

"Dean?!" Sam called out to him. Shia didn't waste anytime, she quickly opended the bathroom door to see Dean moving around in pain clutching his stomach, he can barely force words out. Shia rushed to his side.

"Dean? What's going on?" Shia asked him; the emotion of worry filled her voice.

"I don't know." Dean said as he bend over and gasped. "Oh- guys something's wrong- bunch of knives inside of me-"

"Dean?" Sam asked again.

"Find the damn thing Sam!" Shia said as realization took hold of her. Shia stayed be Dean's side, making sure he focus on her and tries to fight it off. Sam moved off the bed and kneeled in front of Dean who is now leaning all the way forward with his head almost between his legs. Shia rubbed his back and whispered soothing words in his ear as tears fell from her face.

"Son of a bitch-" Dean grimaced in pain.

"Sam's gonna find the hex bag, it's going to be okay." Shia tried telling her husband.

"Dean, hey." Sam said.

"The coven man, it's gotta be the coven doing this."

"Dean's right, Sam."

"Don't worry. Shia stay here." Sam got up and rushed into the bathroom opening the cupboards below the sink looking for the hex bag as Dean yell in pain and lies back on the bed, his face still twisted in pain. Sam pulled things out of the cupboard throwing them aside. Shia looked extremely worried, she doesn't know what to do.

"Any luck, Sam?" Shia asked, but she didn't get a response.

Dean leaned forward again falling to his knees in front of the foot of the bed, spitting out blood, choking and sputtering. Shia rushed his side to try to help him in some way. Sam was still looking for the hex bag, in another cupboard pulling out pillows and when he doesn't find anything, he moved to the bed while Dean was still choking on blood and spitting it out of his mouth. Sam pulled off the covers to the bed tearing back the sheets and sliced the mattress open with his knife and still cannot find the hex bag.

"Dean. Shia. I can't find it." Sam said looking defeated. Shia was officially scared and heartbroken. Dean fell over sideways and looked weak and hurt and still in pain.

"No." Shia and Sam said in unison. As Dean continued to cough blood more weakly now, Sam rummaged through his bag and pulled out the Colt and opened it to make sure there are bullets in it.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Shia asked.

"Stay with Dean." Sam told Shia as he got up and moved toward the door.

"Sam!" Dean yelled for him, but Sam ignored him as he left the motel room. Dean groaned in pain.

"It's gonna be okay, Dean. You hear me?" Shia told him; she felt that there was still some hope to save Dean from the steps of death before his marked time.

"I love you and Lynx so much." Dean said still groaning in pain. Shia looked at him and shook her head.

"I know you do, but don't say it like you're saying goodbye. Please." Shia said with her voice breaking as tears fell freely.

Moments passed and Dean was still leaning over a pool of blood he has spit out gasping and coughing. There were quick footsteps outside and the door was kicked open by Ruby; she stepped in and found Dean and Shia who looked up to see the demon standing there.

"You wanna kill us? Get in line bitch." Dean told the demon bitterly as he quickly grabbed Shia's arm. Shia was about to get ready to fight, but she didn't think Ruby was there to hurt them...especially if she's trying to get Sam to trust her.

Ruby went over to Dean and pulled him up by the collar tossing him on the bed, leaning over him and forced his mouth open with her left hand as Dean tried to push her away. Shia have Ruby some space once she saw a big in the demon's hand. Ruby sprayed a dark brown liquid into his mouth from a bag at her side with her right hand while Dean still struggled under her hold. Ruby stood up as Dean choked on the liquid and spit some back out. Shia smiles to herself as she went over to Dean to see if he was okay.

"Stop ... calling me bitch." Ruby said panting from having to semi wrestle with Dean. "Next time you point that gun at me, I'm not gonna just disappear, understand?" Ruby tossed a sawed off shotgun over to Dean who was back to sitting on the foot of the bed. His face is somewhat cleaned off from the blood and liquid 'cure' that Ruby gave him.

"You ... saved my life."

"Don't mention it." Ruby said with a sassy tone.

"What was that stuff? God, it was ass. It tasted like ass." Dean said with a somewhat disgusted look on his face. Shia sighed in relief to see Dean feeling better.

"It's called witchcraft, short bus." Ruby said right before she turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind her, leaving Dean on the bed slightly offended and Shia grabbing some supplies.

"You're the short bus ... short bus." Dean commented lamely. Shia smiled, but she quickly got serious.

"Dean, we have to go help Sam. He went to go take on a whole coven by himself."

"Yeah, I know. Let's go then." Dean said quickly grabbing his jacket. Shia followed but then had this sensation of feeling weak fall upon her, she fell to her knees. Dean heard the slight thud and quickly walked back into room to see his wife in the position she was in, he quickly helped her up.

"Shia, babe, what's going on?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. I feel weak." Shia whispered as Dean laid her on the bed. "My...my powers...my energy...weak."

"Must be the damn coven again. Don't worry, Sam and I will fix this. I love you." Dean said as kissed Shia on the forhead before quickly heading out the door.

Shia waited and waited for what felt like hours, she knew the boys was in some deep shit but she didn't have the energy to try to help them. After a moment, she felt okay again...her energy...everything was back. She got up quickly and smiled, she raced towards the door but a voice in her head said, "No! Don't go. It's not your fight. Not yet." Shia didn't understand what was going on but she recognized the voice, it was a male's voice. She listened and waited.

Dean and Sam come rushing in to see Shia sitting on the bed staring at her hands. Dean walked over to her.

"Shia?" Dean asked. Shia looked up and smiled, pulling her husband in for a hug. "You're alive! I'm so happy you both are alive! I was so worried."

"I know, baby, but we're here. We also know why you were week."

"Why?"

"Turns out that the demon that was leading the coven knew some extremely dark magic to channel your energy and power." Sam informed her. Shia sat there with a shocked expression.

"Holy fuck." Shia said with a disturbed scoff.

"Sounds like my reaction." Dean said with a small chuckle, he looked at wife with a soft expression. "You gonna be okay?" Shia nodded.

"When do we leave?" Shia asked.

"Right now."

~January 24, 2008 (approximately 5:50 p.m.) "Bobby's house"~

Shia bounced Lynx in the air making silly noises to get her to giggle. Lynx was wearing an outfit that she was finally big enough to wear for Dean's birthday. Shia told Sam to take Dean out for a beer and a night out on the town while she bakes him a pie and get him a gift. Shia placed the pie of the table as she held her baby on her side. The head lights of the impala reflected on the kitchen window, Shia couldn't express how excited she was to see Dean's reaction.

"Babe, we're home." Dean said as he entered through the back door without looking up to see his wife and baby standing there. Lynx made cooing noises as soon as she saw her daddy. It was then Dean noticed what his baby was wearing; a pretty dress with ruffles that had cute writing that said "Superman isn't real but my daddy is."

"She fits into it now?" Dean asked with a smile.

"Yeah, she finally grew into it. Happy birthday, babe. Me and your daughter made you pie, and we also got you a coupon to get one of the best burgers in town." Shia said with an excited smile. Dean couldn't express how he was feeling. He never felt so happy in his life, he almost felt...normal. Dean walked over to Shia and kisses her softly.

"I love you." Shia told him. Dean kissed her again, then kissed his daughter on her small forehead. "Dean, where's Sam?"

"He said he needed to do some things. I told him to drop me off."

"You're letting him have a night out with your car?" Shia asked with an amused expression.

"Only for tonight. I wanted to spend some time alone with my girls." Dean whispered to Shia. Lynx started making cooing sounds again to get her daddy's attention and she did. Dean chuckled at her as he took her from Shia and started playing with her in the next room. She watched the scene between them and thought to herself.

"It won't be like this soon."

*Sorry for the late update! I've been really busy, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think! Thank you!*

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	40. Dream A Little Dream Of Me (3x10)

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream... - Chordettes

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Dream A Little Dream of Me (3x10)

~February 20, 2008 (approximately 8:30 a.m. at the home of Bobby Singer)~

Shia sat on the couch reading a parenting magazine as Lynx played in her play pin. Well, she wasn't really playing with anything, the baby was lying on her stomach and prepping herself up and staring at her mom. Shia was not aware that Lynx could sense when something was wrong with the people she loved, and she knew something was wrong with her pawpaw. Lynx started crying. Shia looked up from her magazine and quickly went over to her daughter.

"Oh, Lynx, what's wrong?" Shia said as she began to bounce the baby to get her to calm down, but she didn't. Suddenly, Shia's phone went off and she knew it was Dean because of the ringtone.

"Hello?" Shia said into the phone as she still tried to get Lynx to stop crying. "What?! Where is he?...I'm on my way. Yeah, Lynx is with me. I can't just drop her off on people all the time Dean, she's coming with me. Bye." Shia hung up the phone and looked her daughter who was now quiet and staring at her. "Pawpaw Bobby is in trouble and we have to help him."

Lynx smiled at her mom. Shia couldn't help but smile back at her daughter.

~February 20, 2008 (approximately 10:30 a.m.) Hospital~

Bobby was lying in a hospital bed. Dean and Sam was standing next the old hunter's bed.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" Sam asked the doctor. Sam has never been more worried about Bobby than he was at the moment.

"We've texted everything we can think to test. He seems perfectly healthy."

"Except that he's comatose." Dean said with a grunt.

"Sorry I'm late...traffic." Shia said as she walked inside the hospital room with Lynx in her arms. Shia turned to the doctor. "I'm Shia, Bobby's daughter. Carry on with the conversation."

"Mrs. Anderson, you're his emergency contact. Anything we should know? Any illnesses?"

"No, he-he never gets sick. I mean, he doesn't even catch cold." Shia explained to the doctor as she switched Lynx on her right hip instead of her left.

"Doctor, is there anything you can do?" Dean asked.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we don't know what's causing it... so we don't know how to treat it. He just... went to sleep, and didn't wake up." The doctor told the Winchester family. Dean, Shia and Sam shared a look and then they looked over at Bobby. Lynx started cooing sadly as she tried to pull her weight towards Bobby, but of course her mom was stronger than her.

"No, Lynx, pawpaw is asleep." Shia told her baby who started to cry. Shia started bouncing her. "Look, there's daddy." Shia said as she pointed at Dean. "You happy to see daddy, right?"

"Come here, chunky monkey." Dean said as Shia gave the baby to him. Lynx calmed down a little but you can tell that she was still upset. Dean began to pace back and forth, slightly bouncing his daughter as he softly patted her back. Moments later, the baby was asleep.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Shia said quietly, considering the fact that her daughter was now asleep.

"I guess we check out Bobby's motel room." Sam said.

"Woah. We? Who's going stay with Lynx?" Dean asked.

"She's coming with us."

"No, she's not. What if there's a vamp or vengeful spirit we're dealing with here?" Dean asked completely concerned for his child's safety.

"Dean, whatever we're dealing with has something to do with my dad being in a coma. So, I highly doubt there's something in his motel room." Shia told Dean before walking out of the hospital room. Dean looked at Sam. Sam shrugged and followed behind Shia. Dean rolled his eyes and went to go join Sam and Shia.

~Bobby's Motel Room~

Sam and Shia entered the room first while Dean waited a moment outside in the car with Lynx until either Sam or Shia said it was okay to come in.

"Clear." Shia said as she took in her surroundings. "Sam, tell Dean it's okay for him and our daughter to come in." Sam nodded and walked out the room. Moments later he came back with Dean and Lynx joining him.

"So, what was Bobby doing in Pittsburgh?" Sam asked Shia, he assumed that she knew considering that Bobby is her dad.

"I don't know." Shia said.

"Unless he's taking an extremely lame vacation..." Dean said as he held Lynx close to his chest as she laid there soundlessly asleep. Dean closed the door as they walked into the center of the room.

"I mean, he must have been working a job, right?" Sam asked both Dean and Shia. They continued to walk around the room.

"Well, you think there'd be some sort of sign of something, you know?" Dean asked looking around for some newspaper or something. Sam opened a drawer, but it was empty. Dean does the same, and it was also empty. The room looked completely clean.

"Research, news clippings..." Shia said as she checked under her father's bed. Sam then turned to the closet.

"Or a frigging pizza box or a beer can." Dean said as he looked at the clean nightstand next to Bobby's bed.

Dean walked away from the nightstand he was looking in while Sam walked over to the closet. Shia continued to look under the bed and found nothing. Sam turned on the closet light as Dean turned around to him.

"How 'bout this?" Sam said and it got both Shia and Dean's attention. Sam moved the clothes out of the way and on the wall behind them hanged all of the news clippings, maps and pictures they were looking for, there were pictures of roots, mushrooms, seeds and a map where Bobby has written "Pittsburgh" in big letters and underlined it. There were post-its with addresses and numbers. There's a piece of paper about a plant.

"Good old Bobby, always covering up his tracks." Dean said after he chuckled. Lynx moved around a little in his arms and that let Dean know that the baby was going to wake up soon so he started bouncing a little so that Lynx could feel his movement hoping that she'll be asleep longer.

"You make heads or tails of any of this?" Sam asked Dean. Dean took one of the papers about a plant and reads the title of it.

"Silene capensis", which of course means absolutely nothing to me." Dean said with a grunt. Shia smirked at how Dean was going about the proper medical term for what they were looking for.

"Here. Obit." Sam said as he took a newspaper clipping and read from it as he skims it. "Dr. Walter Gregg, 64, university neurologist."

"How'd he bite it?" Dean asked.

"Um.. actually, they don't know. They say he just went to sleep and didn't wake up." Sam said as if he was a bit confused. Dean took the clipping from him, reading it himself.

"That sound familiar to you guys?" Shia asked as she thought about her dad not waking up from his slumber.

"All right, um... So let's say Bobby was looking into the doc's death. You know, hunting after something-" Sam started saying and then Dean looked up at him.

"...that started hunting him." Dean finished Sam's sentence.

"Bingo." Shia said. Dean looked at Sam and Shia, he then carefully gave his daughter to Shia.

"All right, you two stay here with Lynx. See if you can make heads or tails of this." Dean said as he pointed to the closet.

"What are you gonna do?" Sam asked.

"I'm gonna look into the good doctor myself." Dean said as he walked towards the door.

"By yourself?" Shia asked before Dean could open the door. Dean turned around with a sly smirk.

"I'm a big boy, babe. I can handle this by myself, Thank you." Just as he said that, he left.

"So...what's the issue today?" Sam asked a slightly frustrated Shia. Shia placed her daughter on the bed of the motel room. Lynx was wide awake but she was quiet as she kicked her legs at her mom. Shia smiled softly at the infant.

"I don't know." Shia said with a sigh. "He's been on edge towards me. And I haven't been the best wife lately. It's the date, Sam. I can't look at him without thinking that I won't be looking at him everyday soon."

"I understand, Shia. I won't let Dean go to hell. I promise. Just talk to him. Okay? It's killing Dean how you won't talk to him as much. I know it is." Sam told his sister in law. Shia looked at Sam and nodded.

"We should try to figure this shit out so we can help my dad out." Shia told Sam and he smirked, getting to work quickly. Shia picked Lynx up and held her close as she started reading some articles.

~February 20, 2008 (approximately 2:48 p.m.) Hospital~

Dean was sitting by Bobby's bed, looking at him, thoughtfully. Sam and Shia along with Lynx entered after a few moments. Dean became aware of something, and turned around to see his brother, wife, and baby. They shared a look before they walked further into the room.

"How is he?" Sam asked. Dean rubbed his hand over his chin as he turned back to Bobby. Shia walked over to stand beside Dean, she was holding Lynx in one hand and intertwined her fingers with Dean with the other. Dean looked down at her and sadly smiled, Shia returned the gesture. Sam walked to stand by the foot of the bed. He's got files in his hand.

"No change. What you got?" Dean asked with his voice full of hope that his brother and wife got something to figure this mess out. Dean walked over with Shia to see what Sam got.

"Well, considering what you told me about the doc's experiments.." Sam began to say, then he sighed. "...Bobby's wall is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense."

"How so?"

Sam held up a picture of a plant from the folder.

"That plant, Silene capensis, is also known as African Dream Root? It's been used by shaman and medicine men for centuries." Shia told her husband as Sam nodded in agreement with her.

"Let me guess. They dose up, bust out the didjeridus, start kicking around the hackey." Dean said.

"Not quite. If you believe the legends, it's used for dreamwalking. I mean, entering another person's dreams, poking around in their heads." Sam told him.

"I take it we believe the legends." Dean said. Him and Sam shared a look.

"When don't we? But dreamwalking is just the tip of the iceberg." Sam said. They pick up a paper from the folder that contains info on the root and a drawing of it.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I mean, this Dream Root is some serious mojo. You take enough of it, with practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger." Sam told his brother. Shia stared at her dad sadly. Lynx was trying to reach out and touch Bobby again but Shia was obviously stronger than her. Instead of crying, Lynx just watched her surroundings.

"You can control anything. You could turn bad dreams good, you could turn good dreams bad."

"And killing people in their sleep?" Dean asked. Sam nodded.

"For example." Sam said as he nodded towards Bobby. Dean sighed.

"So let's say uh, let's say this doc was testing this stuff on his patients, Tim Leary-style."

"Somebody gets pissed at him, decides to give him a little dream visit, he goes nighty-night."

"But what about my dad?" Shia asked as she got out her small trance. Dean looked over at him sadly.

"I mean, if the killer came after him, how come he's still alive?" Sam asked a bit confused.

"I don't know." Dean told his brother. Shia sighed as she felt that they were back a square one. Lynx leaned over while Shia was off guard, the baby fell on the bed right beside Bobby. Before her mom and dad could react, Lynx touched her pawpaw's face and she could see what he was going through in his mind. The images scared the baby, so she began to cry. Shia quickly picked her up and started to bounce her up and down. Dean went over and touched his baby to make sure she was okay.

"She alright?" Sam asked, voice full of concern.

"Yeah, she's fine." Shia told him

"The fact Bobby didn't react to her must have scared her." Dean said as he kiss really temple of the upset baby.

"You guys, we should get going." Shia said once Lynx finally calmed down.

~Hospital Hallway~

Sam, Shia with Lynx in her arms, and Dean came out through the door of Bobby's room. They walked the hallway.

"So how do we find our homicidal sandman?" Dean asked his brother and wife.

"It could be anyone, Dean." Shia told him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Anyone who knew the doctor, had access to his dream shrooms." Dean said.

"Maybe one of his test subjects or something?" Sam suggested. Shia looked at him and thought that he was on to something.

"Possible. But his research was pretty sketchy. I mean.. I don't know how many subjects he had, or who all of them were." Sam scoffed and Dean looked at him. Shia watched the brothers interact.

"What?" Dean asked.

"In any other case, we'd be calling Bobby and asking him for help right now." Sam said with a loud sigh. Dean looked like he just thought of something. He grabbed Sam by his arm to stop him and he looked up at him.

"You know what? You're right." Dean said. Shia and Sam both looked confused.

"What?" Sam and Shia said in unison. It was weird because never admitted someone else was right.

"Let's go talk to him." Dean said. At that moment, Shia thought Dean has truly lost his mind.

"Sure. I think we might find the conversation a bit one-sided." Sam said a little confused as to what Dean was saying.

"Not if we're tripping on some Dream Root."

"What?" Shia said out loud, looking at Dean like he was crazy.

"You both heard me."

"You wanna go dreamwalking inside Bobby's head?" Sam asked finally getting what Dean was saying.

"Yeah. Why not? Maybe we could help." Dean told Sam and Shia.

"We have no idea what's crawling around in there." Shia told Dean as slightly bounced Lynx in her arms.

"Well how bad could it be?" Dean asked.

"Bad." Sam answered before Shia could.

"Dude, it's Bobby." Dean said.

"Daddy had secrets too, Dean. I've lived with him for ten years and he never really told me any of his background, just all the silly stuff." Shia informed the brothers, they both looked at Shia and nodded.

"Baby, we gotta help him somehow." Dean said.

"Yeah, one problem though. We're fresh out of African Dream Root, so unless you know someone who can score some ..." Sam started to say.

"Crap." Dean said with a grunt.

"What?" Shia asked with concern.

"Bela." Dean said. Shia face frowned.

"Bela? Crap." Sam said as he slightly frowned as well. He then scoffed. "You're actually suggesting we ask her a favor?"

"Yeah. You wanna ask that bitch a favor?" Shia asked her husband as her baby cuddled up against her more as she chewed on her necklace with her growing bottom two teeth.

"I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yeah." Dean said. Dean started walking again. Sam sighed and walked after him. Shia doesn't move for a moment but she rolled her eyes and followed after the boys.

~February 20, 2008 (approximately 6:23 p.m.) Motel Room~

Sam was asleep in his bed while Shia stared down at her napping baby in her portable crib. Dean watched Shia stand over their child. Shia felt Dean's warm stare, so she turned to look at him.

"What are you looking at, pretty boy?" Shia asked Dean who smiled at her.

"Nothing, sweetheart." Dean said with a flirtatious smirk. Shia laughed and thought to herself for a moment.

"This has happened before."

"Yeah, but I think I was like 18 and your 16. Bobby let us stay at his place with you while him and dad went on a hunt." Dean said as he relived that day in his mind. "You were wearing a plaid shirt with your mini skirt and boots. Your hair was up in a ponytail. You were working on homework as I stared down at you, then you looked up at me with those brown eyes and said, "What are you looking at, pretty boy?" To which I replied..."

"Nothing, sweetheart." Shia finished for him. Dean gave her a small smile. "I can't believe you remembered details."

"How could I forget? It was one of my "Man, she's beautiful." moments I had of you." Dean said as he walked over towards Shia, he turned to their daughter and chuckled. "She's looking more and more like me everyday. The girl version, of course."

"Yeah. Have ever thought about it?" Shia asked looking down at Lynx's sleeping form. Dean raised an eyebrow and turned to Shia.

"Thought about what?"

"The time she was conceived."

"No, I never thought about it. Do you know the day?" Dean asked Shia. Shia blushed and looked up at her husband.

"It was that night you told me you loved me for the first time." Shia told Dean, she didn't want to get emotional but she did. Dean places his big hand on Shia's face and leaned in to kiss her, then seconds later his lips were against hers. Just like every time they kissed, it felt like the first time. Shia pulled away slowly and pressed her forehead against Dean's.

"I do have one question." Dean said as he placed his hands around Shia's waist.

"And what's that Mr. Winchester?"

"Will you love me in the morning?"

Shia smiled and leaned in closer to his before whispering, "Forever and always, babe." The pair kissed once more.

Moments after their moment, Shia and Dean sat at the small table set in the motel room. Shia was reading a book and Dean was watching Shia read the book with a smirk on his face. Suddenly, Dean starting hearing sexual moans coming from Sam's mouth. Shia and Dean looked up at each other and then looked at Sam.

"Shouldn't you wake him up, Dean? He's getting louder." Shia told Dean as she tried not to laugh.

"Sam!" Dean said loudly. "Sam! Wake up!" Sam' eyes shot up, he allowed the light to manipulate his eyesight so he could see his brother hover over him. Dean chuckled, watching Sam wipe the drool off his face using both hands.

"Dude, you were out. And making some serious happy noises." Dean said with a smirk. Shia shook her head at Dean. Lynx started whimpering from her crib, so Shia walked over to see what was wrong with her. Sam looked very uncomfortable and didn't look over to Dean.

"Who were you dreaming about?" Dean asked.

"What? No one. Nothing."

"C'mon, you can tell me. Angelina Jolie?"

"No." Sam said with a straight face.

"Brad Pitt?" Dean asked. Shia had to bite back from laughing because she knew Sam must feel embarrassed. Sam turned around, almost looking at him.

"No. No! Dude, it doesn't matter."

"Whatever." Dean said with a slight chuckle to himself.

"Babe, stop picking at your brother." Shia said as she gave Lynx her pacifier. Dean walked over to Shia and stood behind her watching over Lynx as well.

"Whatever." Sam said to himself.

"I called Bela." Dean said as he turned around to look at Sam. Sam got still at this, a smile quickly flashes by. Trying to cover his voice when answering.

"Bela? Yeah? She- What'd she.. you know, say? She.. gonna.. help us?" Sam asked awkwardly. Shia raised an eyebrow at Sam's behavior, slowly catching on as to what he was dreaming about.

"Shockingly, no, which puts us back to square one. Shia's been trying to decipher the doctor's notes. Unfortunately, he has worse handwriting than you do." Dean told his little brother. Sam was still in his chair, back to Dean, looking around a little.

"You gonna come help us with this stuff?" Shia asked as she walked back over to the small table. Dean and Shia looked over at him. Sam looked around, and then down to his lap. He shifts uncomfortably and looked up, still keeping his back to Dean and Shia.

"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a sec." Sam said. He moved around a bit in his seat, stretching. Suddenly a knock on the door sounds. They all turned in its direction. Sam stayed in his chair as Dean got up to open the door. Dean opened the door just inches, just like Sam did in his dream. When he sees who it is, he looked annoyed and opened up the door, walking with it.

"Bela. As I live and breathe." Dean said. Shia frowned as she rolled her eyes at Bela's frame. Sam swallowed visibly. Bela entered the room. Sam reacted to her right away due to the dream, and tries to cover up his "situation."

"You called me. Remember?" Bela said sassily.

"I remember you turning me down."

"Well, I'm just full of surprises."

"You're full of a lot of things, Bela. Shit being one of them." Shia said as she walked over to Lynx's crib.

"Still don't know how to channel your angry issues, I see." Bela said as she watched Shia walked over to a...crib?

Bela turned to Sam, who was still in the chair. He lifted one hand at her, waving awkwardly over his shoulder, staying half-turned away from her with his other hand in his lap. He didn't look her in the eyes.

"Hey, Bela. What's going on?" Sam asked. Dean looked from her to Sam, and she just continued on.

"I brought you your African Dream Root." Bela told Dean. She handed over a jar of it to Dean. "Nasty stuff, and not easy to come by." She put her bag on the TV and started to open her coat, with her back to Sam. Sam sat up, alertly, breathing in anticipation ...

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Shia asked the British woman as she looked from her to her baby, who was wide awake.

"What? I can't do you a little favor every now and again?" Bela asked. Sam tensed up in anticipation as her coat slips off ...

"No. You can't." Shia told her bluntly.

The coat falls away and revealed her in a regular long-sleeved blue shirt, and not as naked as Sam had been half-anticipating. He lets out a breath silently, visibly relaxing a bit more. Shia picked up Lynx and walked over to the fridge. Bela saw that baby and was extremely confused.

"You stole a child?" Bela asked looking from Shia to the Winchester brothers.

"What? No!" Dean said. "She's our daughter."

"Oh." Bela said as she looked at the baby once more. Lynx lifted her head from Shia's shoulder so she could chew on her mommy's necklace. Bela thought the resemblance to Dean was almost uncanny. "She's the female version of you."

"Thanks. Of course there are some differences." Dean said beginning to ramble off about his baby girl. Shia gave him a look telling him to stay focus. "Right. Come on, I wanna know what the strings are before you attach them."

"You said this was for Bobby Singer, right?" Bela asked. Dean nodded. "Well, I'm doing it for him. Not you, Sam, or Shia."

"Bobby? Why?" Dean asked.

"He saved my life once. In Flagstaff." Bela said not skipping a beat. Shia lifted an eyebrow, calling bullshit on whatever Bela was trying to feed them. Dean threw a look Sam's way and Sam just shrugged. He looked back at her, still not responding to her statement. "I screwed up and he saved me, okay? You satisfied?"

"Maybe." Dean said with a shrug.

"I still cal bullshit, but I do want to save my dad." Shia said as she grabbed a small jar of baby food of the counter. Dean noticed that Lynx was going to eat baby food instead of drink milk.

"Are we out of milk?" Dean asked Shia. Shia nodded as she pulled out Lynx's portable highchair, she set it up as her baby was pulling on her clothes. Shia placed the baby in the highchair and started feeding her "Turkey and Mashed Potatoes" flavored baby food. Lynx frowned at her mom after she tasted it the first time, but then she quickly developed a taste for the food. Bela looked at Dean, who was now looking at the jar, and at Sam.

"So when do we go on this little magical mystery tour?" Bela asked the Winchester brothers.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere. I don't trust you enough to let you in my car, much less Bobby's head. No offense." Dean told the British girl bluntly. Sam looked a bit disappointed. Dean walked over to the closet. He turned on the lights and opened up the safe, where the Colt is, and he put in the jar of Dream Root with it. Bela and Sam watch him. Shia didn't take her eyes of Bela, as always...she did not trust that girl.

"None taken." Bela said with a sly smirk. Sam looked up at her quickly and Dean closed the safe, locking it. He walked into the room again, where Bela is looking a bit annoyed now.

"It's 2 am. Where am I supposed to go?" Bela asked the dirty blond man.

"Get a room. Ah, they got the Magic Fingers, a little Casa Erotica on pay-per-view. You'll love it."

"You..." Bela took her bag in a huff and walked to the door, retrieving her coat on the way. Sam jumped out of his chair calling after her.

"Nice to see-.. Seeing you..." Bela slammed the door behind her, ignoring him.

"... Bela." Sam said. Dean who was smiling after her, takes that in and he turned to Sam, a bit confused. Shia sat there for a moment and let that sink in. She frowned as cleaned off Lynx's face.

"Oh Sammy." Shia groaned.

~•~

The Winchester brother sat face to face from each other as they both sit on their beds. Shia finally got a grumpy Lynx to sleep once more. The demigod sighed in relief when she didn't hear her baby whimper after she laid her down. Shia turned around and walked over to the bed and sat beside Dean.

"So, what's the plan?" Shia asked. Dean looked from Sam to Shia.

"Well, me and Sam will be going in after Bobby. You're staying here with Lynx." Dean told his wife. He was expecting her to curse him out about not being reasonable and always putting her on mommy duty. Shia looked at Dean and then Sam; she said nothing, instead she nodded. The Winchester brothers both raised an eyebrow. "So what? That's it. No cursing me out or threatening to never sleep with me again?"

"Dean—" Shia sighed. "I'm a mom. Okay? I have a responsibility. I'll stay here with my daughter." Dean looked at his wife with a hard glare. Shia gave in as she rolled her eyes. "If you make me stay here you'll be on poopy duty for a month straight. Don't call on me or Sam to change her."

"That sounds about right."

"Just hurry up and save my dad."

Sam and Dean both clicked their drinks of African dream root plus Bobby's hair quickly. Almost instantly they passed out.

"That's the fastest I've ever seen them fall asleep. Must be some strong ass potion." Shia said under her breath.

The sounds of whimpering started to fill the room, the whimpers soon turned into screaming cries. Shia walked over to the crib her daughter was in and picked her up. "Did someone have a bad dream?" Lynx didn't stop crying. Shia kept bouncing her, even tried feeding her. "Lynx, what's wrong?" Lynx's eyes rested on her daddy's and uncle's body laying there lifelessly. Lynx calmed down and groaned which sounded like 'ah.' "Daddy and Uncle Sam should wake up shortly. No worries, princess."

After finally getting the baby to calm down, she was so tempted to take one drink from the dream root but of course she chose against it. "Lynx.." Shia said as she picked up her little girl who sat in her highchair. "Let's take a ride in the impala." Shia grabbed everything she needed before she walked out of the hotel room.

Shia was driving around town, she finally got Lynx to go back to sleep. Dean always told her that if his daughter would not sleep, take her out in the impala; after about seven minutes she should be asleep. Just then Shia's phone ranged, she quickly picked it up without looking at the ID.

"Shia?" The voice said on the other end of the phone.

"Dean? You're awake?" Shia was happy to hear his voice.

"Yeah. We're both awake. Where are you?"

"Lynx wouldn't sleep so—"

"Say no more. I understand. She can be stubborn like her mom." Dean told Shia. The demi god chuckled slightly as she looked at her baby in the rear view mirror. "Hurry back, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. We love you."

"I love my girls too. Bye, babe." Dean said before hanging up.

~February 21, 2008 (approx. 9:34 a.m.) Bobby's hospital room~

Bobby was sitting in bed with Lynx in his arms, looking over the papers from the investigation. Dean was sitting on the bed next to him. Shia was sitting in the hospital chair looking over some clues as to what happened.

"Hey, Bobby. That, uh... That stuff, all that stuff with your wife?" Dean asked slowly. Bobby looked over at him. Shia looked up as well, she knew her dad never talked about his late wife, Karen. She never had the guts to bring her up. "That actually happen?"

"Everybody got into hunting somehow." Bobby replied cooly. Shia looked back down at her work, her heart ached for her old man. She couldn't imagine what it's like to lose someone you were in love with. Shia glanced up at Dean and smiled sadly. She can't imagine losing Dean.

"I'm sorry." Dean said with pure sympathy. Shia nodded in agreement with Dean.

"Don't be sorry. If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost in there. Or dead." Bobby said. He paused for a moment and then looked at Dean. "Thank you." Dean only responded with a twitch of his lips. Sam came in after that, seeing the men sharing a look.

"So, uh, stoner boy wasn't in his dorm. My guess is he's long gone by now." Sam said with a scoff.

"He ain't much of a stoner." Bobby told them. He picked up a picture of the boy in his dreams, looking at it.

"No?" Shia asked.

"No. His name's Jeremy Frost. Full-on genius. Hundred-and-sixty IQ. Which is sayin' some, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head."

Dean nodded at that. Bobby picked up another paper and held it to Sam.

"Here's Father of the Year."

Shia looked at a copy of a drivers license for Jeremy's dad. "HENRY DAVID FROST, 3123 Houset Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15122 ... DOB 12/16/1968, BRN eyes, 5'11"."

"He died before Jeremy was 10." Bobby stated after Shia read out the information.

"Looks like a real sweetheart." Sam said as he looked down at the picture.

"Injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand. He hasn't dreamt since." Shia said when she read over Jeremy's profile. Sam put the paper back on the little side table.

"Till he started dosing the dream drug." Dean said.

"Yep."

"How'd he know how to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?" Dean asked with a small hint of confusion and...fear?

"Hey, he was rooting around in my skull. God knows what he saw in there." Bobby told the eldest Winchester.

"Yeah. How'd he get in there in the first place? Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair, your DNA, or something?" Sam asked thinking about the requirements for dream root.

"Yeah." Dean told his brother.

"Yeahhhh. 'Fore I knew it was him, he offered me a beer. I drank it." Bobby said with an eye roll. Shia rolled her eyes with her dad. Dean's face was showing a growing realization. "Dumbest frigging thing."

Dean, realizing he's done the same thing tried to make it a bit lighter.

"Oh, I don't know. It wasn't that dumb." Dean said with a nervous laugh. Sam, Shia, and Bobby all looked at him with this comment.

"Dean," Shia said with a groan realizing why Dean was acting like he wanted to light the mood. "you didn't."

"I was thirsty?" Dean said. Shia rolled her eyes at him, with a scoffed added shortly after that.

"That's great. Now he can come after either one of you." Sam said angrily. Lynx started to stir and cry when she sensed the tension in the room. Shia quickly got the baby from her dad and started bouncing her to calm down but the baby would not budge. Shia nodded at the men to continue as she takes Lynx outside of the room.

"I know...your daddy's a big dummy." Shia whispered in her daughter's ear. Soon after, Shia got Lynx to calm down by singing softly to her.

In the hospital room, the men were trying to figure things out.

"Well, now we just have to find him first." Dean said.

"We better work fast ... and coffee up. Because the one thing we cannot do – is fall asleep." Bobby told Dean, gesturing between him and himself.

Shia finally walked in the room with a calm baby in her arms who was looking around for something to chew on. Lynx was cooing at Sam's phone. Sam looked at his niece and said, "No, this belong's to Uncle Sam."

"So, guys...what's the plan?" Shia asked.

"No sleep whatsoever." Dean told her before walking pass her.

~TWO DAYS LATER February 23, 2008 (approximately 7:15 p.m.) ~

Dean was pissed off at that Jeremy kid for even doing whatever he was doing in the first place. Dean called Bobby to not only check on his daughter but to also see if they have anything. All that Dean learned from the phone call is that Lynx keeps trying to ruin Bela's outfit by drooling on it, and that they have no new information. Dean has had it! He quickly pulled over and stopped the car.

"All right, that's it. I'm done." Dean said angrily. Shia and Sam shared at look.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked. Dean slid down a bit in his seat, resting his head on the back of it.

"Taking myself a long-overdue nap."

"What?!" Shia exclaimed. "Dean, Jeremy can come after you."

"That's the idea."

"Excuse me?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Come on guys, we can't find him, so let him come to me." Dean said with a small grunt.

"On his own turf? Where he's basically a god?" Sam asked.

"I can handle it."

"Not alone, you can't." Shia said before she reached over and pulled out some of Dean's hair.

"Ow!" Dean complained. He touched his head where his wife grabbed some hair. He looks over at Shia and Sam as the young demi god have his brother some of his hair.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Dean asked with confusion.

"Comin' in with you." Shia told him as she fiddled with some of Dean's hair.

"The hell you are."

"Why not? At least then it'll be three against one." Sam said. Dean doesn't have a response first, opening and closing his mouth.

"'Cause I don't want you digging around in my head."

"Too bad, hot stuff." Shia said as Sam goes for the items to make the liquid and Dean just looks at him for a moment. Soon after, they were all asleep; leaning on the doors of the Impala. Sam woke up first, clearing his throat. The car was right where it was before they went to sleep.

"Dean. Shia." Sam nudged Shia's shoulder so she could wake up and hit Dean on his arm and Dean woke up forcefully.

"Jeez." Dean groaned as he was waking up. "For the love of God." Dean looked around a bit, looking extremely tired.

"What are we still doing here?" Shia asked tiredly as she looked around herself.

"I have no idea." Sam said. A sound can be heard from outside the car. "There's someone out there."

They get out of the car, looking around. As they walk in front of the car, music can suddenly be heard. Dean looked behind him and then when he turns around, a corner of the clearing lights up, and there sits Lisa Braeden on a little blanket and a picnic basket. Dean just looked at her and she smiled up at him.

"Hey. You gonna sit down?" She asked sweetly. Shia and Sam looked at each other for a moment. Shia gave Dean her 'What the hell?' look. Lisa suddenly disappeared and then there was a big house with a wife picketed fence. Dean nodded for them to go in. Dean looked around and realized what was to come. The dream version Shia came out with a little boy in her arms. Shia started at herself, she looked about ten years older.

"Dean! Hey, I need you to pick up Lynx from junior cheer practice, Rouge from ballet, Sammy and Sean from baseball. Oh, and pick up Kodia from softball. I promised Sam you would. I'm going to take John to the store with me so I could pick up dinner." The dream Shia said as she held the toddler close to her. Sam and Shia just stared at the scene in front of them. Dean played along and nodded. The dream Shia quickly turned around and said, "Oh! The test results came back...I'm not pregnant! Thank God. Lord knows I wouldn't be able to handle another baby. See ya soon, baby." Dream Shia said before giving Dean a kiss and walking out the door. Shia and Sam walked over to Dean. Shia looked at him and gave him a kiss.

"You dream about us having a buttload of kids?" Shia asked her husband.

"I dream about it a lot." Dean told her. Sam looked between the two amused. Sam thought that Dean is getting soft when it comes to his girls. Dean looked over at Sam.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry." Sam said.

Suddenly, everything disappeared. The Winchester trio looked around confused. "Where did everything go?" Shia asked.

"That's a great question." Dean said.

Sam and Shia were looking in the same direction, they saw Jeremy standing there.

"Dean." Shia and Sam said in unison. Jeremy took off running, and they all ran after him. Shia was first to notice that Dean wasn't with them anymore. Shia stopped.

"Sam. Wait. That bastard child lured us away from Dean." Shia said as looked around everywhere for Dean. "Son of a bitch!"

"Calm down, Shia. We'll find him." Sam said reassuring his friend. Just then a loud bang could heard and then Shia and Sam jolted awake, they noticed Dean sleeping in the sit he slept in earlier.

"Dean?" Sam asked, but the figure turned out to be Jeremy. Shia was utterly disturbed. Shia went to punch Jeremy but he pounded her with the baseball bat knocking her out. Sam then got in a brawl with the guy. Sam was losing the battle so he opened the car door and slid out.

"You're fucking psycho." Sam said with a pained voice. Jeremy chuckled as he continued to beat on Sam.

Shia woke up after a few moments; she noticed Sam talking to Jeremy. Shia had to think fast. She quickly got out the car.

"Hey, smart guy." Shia called out to Jeremy. He turned to her. "You're forgetting something."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"You're not the only one who took dream root." Sam told him. Suddenly, the sound of Jeremy's father ringed through the air. Shia saw the older man come towards Jeremy and beat the shit out if him. Shia looked away as she ran over to Sam.

"Are you okay?" Shia asked. Sam got up and nodded.

"It's over now."

Everyone woke up, panting. They looked over at each other and then looked away. Dean was clearly shaken by what just happened in his dream, he had to face his biggest fear...himself.

~February 24, 2008 (approximately 9:47 a.m.)~

Dean was on the phone with his back to the door, hanging up the phone. Hearing the door opening, he turned around, and Sam and Bobby enter.

"Hey, you guys seen Bela? She's not in her room. She's not answering her phone." Dean asked. Shia came out if the bathroom with a wet Lynx in her arms. Sam and Bobby closed the door and came in.

"She must've taken off or something." Sam suggested.

"Just like that? It's a little weird." Dean said with a raised eyebrow. Shia gave Lynx to Dean as she walked over to their daughter'a baby bag to find some clothes for her to wear.

"Yeah well, if you ask me what's weird is why she helped us in the first place." Bobby said with a grunt. Shia froze and looked up.

"What do you mean? I thought you saved her life, dad." Shia said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bobby asked in confusion.

"The thing in Flagstaff." Dean said. Sam turned around and looked at Bobby.

"That thing in Flagstaff was an amulet. I gave her a good deal, that's all." Dean got confused at that, closing his mouth. Sam turned around and looked at him, confused. He turned back to BobbY.

"Well, the why did y-?" Sam was trying to say, but couldn't find the words. Shia came to realization.

"Shit. You boys better check your pockets." Shia said. Sam reached into his pockets, as does Dean with his free hand.

"Not literally." Bobby said with an eye roll. Dean gave the baby to his wife before he turned to the safe.

"No, no, no, no." Dean said as walked over to the safe. He went over to the safe and opened it up. It's empty.

"The Colt." Sam said. Dean looked over at him and slammed the safe shut. The loud noise startled Lynx as she began to whimper. Dean quickly walked over to his baby and got her from Shia, holding the child close to calm her down. "Bela stole the Colt."

"Damn it, boys!" Bobby said.

"I told you two not to trust the bitch." Shia said with her arms crossed.

"Pack you crap." Dean said as he walked over to his bag on the couch, grabbing it with his free hand.

"Why? Where are we going?" Sam asked. Dean turned to him.

"We're gonna go hunt the bitch down."

~•~

The Winchester trio were standing by the open trunk, Dean was zipping his bag closed and Sam put his own in there. Shia was putting Lynx's big diaper bag in the trunk while the smaller one laid on her shoulders. Shia walked over to the backseat and started to buckle up her baby in the car seat.

"Hey, Sam. I was wondering. When you were in my head, what did you see?" Dean asked.

"Uh, just Jeremy. He kept me and Shia separated from you. Easier to beat our brains out that way, I guess." Sam said. Dean scoffed.

"What about you? You never said." Dean shook his head.

"Nothing. I was looking for you the whole time." Dean lied smoothly. Dean took the keys out the lock to the trunk and closed it. They get into the car.

Sam sighed as he sat down. Dean looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Sam. Shia." Dean said. Sam and Shia looked over at him.

"Yeah?" Shia asked. Dean doesn't look at them.

Dean cleared his throat. "I've been doing some thinking, and... Well, the thing is... I don't wanna die." Sam and Shia's expression softens, saddens. In a way, Shia was relieved that he finally admitted it. "I don't wanna go to hell." Sam swallowed, not answering right away. He nodded his head softly. Shia reached over and started playing with Dean's hair.

"All right. Yeah. We'll find a way to save you."

Dean looked over at him, and then looked away nodding. He looked back at Shia, a little smile on his lips.

"Okay, good." Dean said. Sam nodded at him, reassuringly. They then drove off.

~February 28, 2008 (approximately 6:28 p.m.)~

Dean sat in the motel room with a happy Lynx in his arms. Dean asked Sam to stall Shia for a while while he got some things for her birthday. Dean placed Lynx in her walker so she could be distracted with her toys while he gets busy with placing her cake on the table, with the food he bought from this fancy take out place. Dean laid out the letters that said, "Happy 28th Birthday."

Dean's phone ranged and he answered quickly. "Hello? You guys are back? Okay, come in."

Moments later, Sam and Shia walked in. Shia looked over at Dean and saw what he did for her. Shia looked from Dean to Sam.

"Oh you guys!" Shia said as she hugged Dean then Sam. "You boys are so sweet." Dean walked over and picked up Lynx.

"I can't take all the credit. It was her idea." Dean said nodded down at the baby in his arms. Shia chuckled at Dean and walked over to her baby.

"You know how to spoil your mama, huh?" Shia asked the 9 month old baby who smiled at her mama. Sam walked over to stand beside Shia. Lynx got really happy to see Sam, she started to jump around in her dad's arms. Dean gave the baby to Sam. The younger Winchester walked over to his bed and started to play with her. Dean and Shia watched the scene, Dean placed an arm around his wife's shoulder. Shia placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Dean. I mean that. You made this birthday the best one ever. This makes up for ruining my 16th birthday."

"I was hoping so." Dean said with a laugh before leaning down to kiss his main girl gently on the lips.

~*~*~*| ~*~*~*| ~*~*~*~*~*| — (A/N)

I'm so sorry! It's been forever since I updated this story. Believe me when I say that I have a hectic life. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing. FYI, I messed up the day of Sam dying and lynx being born. Lynx is born a couple of days after Sam. So, she would be 9 months around this time. Sorry for the mix up. Next chapter will have a moment where Lynx will start standing up on her feet by herself. So yay!

Let me know what you'd like to see or read..! Anyways, thanks for reading!


	41. Mystery Spot (3x11)

Carry on my wayward, son. They'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more. ~Kansas

Mystery Spot (3x11) —Some elements from the episode.

—

~February 29, 2008 | Bobby's House~

Shia was making breakfast for everyone as Lynx played on the floor. Tasha, the witch and also the girlfriend of Julius, walked in with her small radio in hand.

"Hey, Shia. Need any help?" Tasha asked as she placed her radio on the counter.

"No. It's alright. I got it." Shia said before placing a plate of pancakes on the table. "But, what you can do is get everyone up and tell them that breakfast is about ready."

"Will do." Tasha said before leaving the room and going upstairs. Shia then placed a plate of scrabbled eggs right beside the pancakes. Lynx was chewing on one of her toys when her mommy looked down at her and smiled, the baby felt her mom'a stare and looked up. She giggled and made a noise that sounded like "ehhh hehe." Shia picked up the little girl and placed her in her highchair. Lynx started clapping her small hands soundlessly when she saw a sleepy Dean enter the kitchen.

"I wish you'd let me sleep more." Dean mumbled before going our to his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Morning, chunky monkey." Lynx smiled at her daddy, showing all of her four teeth. Dean smiled at the baby before walking over to Shia and kissing her softly on her full lips. "Morning, mommy Winchester."

Shia smiled and said, "Morning, daddy Winchester. You're going to feed Lynx this morning. I'm still cooking. Here," Shia gave him a plate full of bacon, "set that on the table. Please?" Dean did what he was asked. On his way to the table, he grabbed one of Lynx's small baby plates. Dean placed one bacon, some eggs, and a small piece of a pancake on Lynx's plate and allowed her to have at it. Lynx knew how to feed herself, but Dean was always there to help if she didn't know how to chew it properly. Like now, for example, Lynx doesn't know how to eat her bacon or pancake so Dean is helping her.

Moments later, Tasha and Julius along with Bobby and Sam walk in the kitchen to sit down at the table. It didn't take long for everyone to start digging in. Shia sat beside Dean as he fed his daughter.

"So," Tasha began to say with excitement hinted in her voice. "Me and Julius have something to announce." The sentence caught everyone's attention. "Okay. Well, Julius and I have decided to move in together."

"That's wonderful news!" Shia said with a smile, everyone said "yeah" in agreement with Shia. "I'm really happy for the two of you."

"Thanks." Julius said with a smirk, the young man lead over and kissed Tasha on her soft cheek. Tasha looked at Julius and blushed. Shia watched the couple interact and thought, 'Looks familiar.'

It didn't take long for everyone to finish their food.

"Alright, I'm gonna hit the books. I'm helping a friend on a case." Bobby said as he grabbed a few beers and took them in the room. Shia went over and started cleaning up. Dean picked up Lynx and places her on the floor with some toys. Shia walked over to the sink and ran some water for the dishes she was about to wash. Lynx say her mommy standing there and made a sound the sounded like, "heee." The baby was always happy to see any part of her family. Dean watched Lynx as she crawled over Shia and grab on her leg. Shia looked down and smile.

"Are you trying to scare your mommy?" Shia asked before she picked up the baby. Lynx smiled before she places her hand on Shia's mouth. Shia kissed it, making the toddler say, "Ooo." Dean walked over to his girls and kissed them both on the forehead before grabbing the dishes and started washing them. "Dean, I got it."

"Nah. I got it. Play with the baby."

Tasha walked in to see Shia and Lynx play on the kitchen floor.

"She's getting so big. It's not fair." Tasha playfully pouted. Shia nodded at the young lady.

"Micheal said that she'll be walking soon. She turns 10 months old in a few days. She's haven't said her first words yet. Should I be worried?"

Tasha raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "I didn't start talking until I was two years old. Some kids wait until they're about three, so no worries. She'll talk when she's ready." Shia sighed.

"I hope so." Shia was so busy talking to Tasha that she didn't notice Lynx standing by herself near a chair. "Dean! Look, she's standing!" Dean turned around and saw his little girl doing a big girl thing , she was standing up on her feet! Dean quickly dried his hands and ran over to his baby, picking her up and spinning her around. Lynx was smiling and cooing happily at her daddy!

Sam walked in with an amused expression. Not seconds later, Julius walked in behind Sam.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"She was standing up by herself, Sammy! She's my big girl!" Dean said as he lifted the baby in the air and catching her. "This is as big as you'll need to get! No more growing up! I mean that Lynx." Lynx cooed at her father. "My chunky monkey." Dean said as he held the baby close to him. Shia smirked and looked over at Sam to see him smiling sadly.

He was thinking the exact thing Shia didn't want to think. It's not going to be like this too soon.

~September 15, 2008 (approx. 8:13 p.m.) — Bobby's house~

It's been six months since Shia got the call from Sam saying that Dean got shot by some wannabe thug. Shia's depression continued to get worse and worse.

"Ma." Lynx said as she ran into the living room where Shia sat at staring at the wall. Shia looked over a her one year old and grinned. Shia felt like that baby was the only piece of Dean she had left.

"What is it, chunky monkey?"

"Pie." Shia rolled her eyes. 'Yeah, she's her daddy's baby.' Shia picked up the little girl and walked into the kitchen. There was a knock at the back door, Shia held Lynx close as she walked over to the door.

Shia didn't expect to see Sam Winchester, a man she hasn't spoken to in months stand behind the door.

"Sam?" Shia said surprisingly. Lynx lifted her head from her mom's head and pointed at Sam saying, "Tuncle Tam." Sam smiled widely at the little girl.

"Hey, Lynx. How's my girl?" Sam asked the baby. She smiled shyly at him and hid her face.

"Looks like she still has a crush on you." Shia said with a giggle, but then expression turned serious. "What's going on, Sam? Why are you here?"

"Bobby called and said he's got a lead. So..." Sam told her.

Shia nodded and mumbled, "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, he's in the basement. Um, let me out her in her play pin and I'll head down." Shia told him. Sam nodded before walking down to the basement. Shia walked in the living room and placed Lynx in her play pin. The baby frowned at her mom.

"Pie."

"In a second. I'll be right back." Shia said as she placed a kiss on Lynx's cheek.

~••~

Shia was walking down the basement as she heard Bobby and Sam talking.

"What do we need?" Sam asked.

"Blood." Bobby replied simply.

"How much blood?" Shia made her way down the stairs. The men looked at her but continued with their conversation.

"Ritual says near a gallon. And it's gotta be fresh, too."

"Meaning we have to bleed a person dry." Shia said as she crossed her arms. Bobby nodded.

"And it's gotta be tonight. Or not for another fifty years."

"Then let's go get some." Sam said gravely. Sam turned to leave. Shia and Bobby did not move. Sam noticed and turned around.

"You break my heart, kid." Bobby stated. Shia looked down to the floor, finding it interesting.

"What?" Sam asked nonchalantly.

"I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man."

"Then why'd you bring me here?" Sam asked. Shia looked at her dad wanting to know the answer as well.

"Why? Because it was the only way you'd see me! Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you! Because I thought you'd back down from killing a man!"

"Well, you thought wrong."

"Sam—" Shia started after slightly gasping.

"Leave the stuff, I'll do it myself." Sam told the older man.

"I told you, I'm not gonna let you kill a man."

"It's none of your damn business what I do!" Sam shouted. Shia flinched at his sudden tone.

"You want your brother back so bad?" Bobby asked before leaning down and pulling a knife out of his bag.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Shia asked as he held it up to Sam.

"Fine." Bobby said, ignoring Shia. Sam eyed the knife.

"what are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Better me than a civilian."

"Daddy, no." Shia said. Bobby held the knife out to Sam.

"You're crazy, Bobby. I'm not killing you." Sam said.

"Oh, now I'm the crazy one. Look, Sam, I'm old, I'm coming near the end of my trail. But you can keep fighting. Saving folk. But you need your brother. Let me get him back to you."

"Bobby—" Sam started.

"Shia, go upstairs." Bobby told Shia. She raised her eyebrow and shook her head.

"The hell I am."

"Shia...please." Bobby gave her a pleading look. Shia didn't want to disrespect her dad so she as she was told.

~••~

Shia waited for what felt like hours. By the time she got upstairs, she found her daughter asleep with toys surrounding her. Shia smiled and shook her head. She carefully picked up the baby and carried her upstairs into her room. Shia laid the toddler inside of her crib.

"Lynx, I wish I knew how to even explain how much your father loved you." Shia said as she stared down at the sleeping girl who looked more and more like her father everyday. "You were his world. His pride and joy. All he ever talked about was your happiness."

Lynx stirred in her sleep. Shia watched her and grinned 'She sleeps, eats, and play around like her daddy. She's literally him.' Shia thought to herself.

"I wish I could talk to him again."

Then everything went blank.

She opened her eyes to the sound of Lynx crying. She lifted her head from her pillow and looked at the date on her clock.

"March 2nd?!" Shia couldn't believe it. She whipped out her phone and dial a number she felt like she hasn't dialed in a while.

There was a ringing tone.

"Yeah, Shia?" The voice of Dean asked in a worrying tone. Shia smiled widely as the tears fell from her eyes.

"I love you." Shia whispered.

"I love you too, babe. Hey! Give my baby a kiss for me." Dean said.

"Will do." Shia said happily.

~••~••~••~••~ (A/N)

I know you guys were expecting a whole episode but I didn't know how to really write it but I did put some what of a scene in there. Anyways, I think my favorite episode is next so it might take a while to update. Just be patient with me.

I hope you guys like Lynx. She is a very important character. Let's just say that Heaven and Hell takes a strong interest in the baby.

Okay, I have you a hint!

Anyways, leave a comment! Thanks!


	42. Jus In Bello (3x12)

Mama, I'm in love with a criminal. And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical. —Britney Spears

~••~••~••~••~

Jus In Bello (3x12)

~March 6, 2008 (approximately 7:15 p.m.) Bobby's House~

"I don't know, dad. Like I said days ago...I should be out there helping the boys find Bela, that bitch." Shia said to Bobby as she paved back and forth in his living room. Bobby watch the girl pace herself to death, he felt like she was worried over nothing.

"Those boys got it under control. Besides, don't you love spending time with Lynx?" Bobby asked as he motioned to the baby who was crawling to her other toy across the room. Shia smiled widely. She loved seeing her daughter active and spending time with her but she feels like Dean should be the one doing this since his time is almost up. Shia quickly shook the thought away.

"Of course. I love being here with her, daddy. I just—I want to be with Dean as well. I know, I'm selfish."

"You're not selfish. You just keep looking at the clock, I get it."

"You know, I used to tell myself that if anything ever happened to Dean...someone's gonna have to put me in the looney bin because I'd go insane. Now...I feel like I have no choice but to lose him, there's no way he's gonna get out of that deal. You and I both know it. Sam is the only one denying it." Shia said as she made her way to the couch to sit down. Lynx noticed her mom sitting and crawled over to her, and pulled on her legs. Shia looked down at her daughter and smiled before picking her up.

"Oh, Lynx. You're getting so big. I don't like that. I want you to stay my small baby forever." Shia said as she kissed her little girl all over her face, making the baby laugh. "Okay, time for bed, bugga."

Shia laid the baby in her crib, but before she could move her arm, Lynx grabbed on it; pulling her towards her.

"Lynx, it's time to sleep baby." Lynx started to whine and kick her legs, throwing a fit. "Lynx, stop."

Lynx wouldn't stop fussing. Shia didn't know how to calm her down, but then she had a thought.

"Hey, Jude..." Shia started to sing, "don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart..."

Soon after the baby was calmed, but not asleep. Shia smiled down at her before pressing her lips against her forehead once more. Shia left the room quietly. Shia walked downstairs and grabbed a book on demon deals, but then she had a thought.

"Babe, don't be pissed but we're in jail." Shia heard Dean's voice say. "Orb to us and help." Shia looked up from her book and sighed.

"Dad!" Shia yelled as she got up from her seat.

~March 6, 2008 (approximately 7:45 p.m.) Jailhouse~

Shia orbed to the location she felt Dean and Sam were. She stood in another cell, in the dark. She could hear and see all the commotion in front of her.

"Possessed? Right. Fire up the chopper! We're taking them out of here now." A voice said angrily.

"Yeah! Do that!" Dean smarted off. Shia rolled her eyes at that. She felt like Dean was just digging himself a bigger hole.

"Bill?" A guy said into the speaker, but there was static on the other end of the walkie-talkie. "Bill, are you there?" There's no answer from the walkie. The darker skin man nodded to the man that was speaking into the walkie-talkie to check outside. There were two men still poring their guns at Sam and Dean.

~••~

Suddenly, there was a noise that started everyone. Shia then felt a churning feeling in her stomach, she then realized that what was ever here...weren't friendly.

"What the hell was that? Reidy? Reidy?!" The man tried to get a hold on the man he sent outside moments ago. The man turned to look at the remaining officers, then Sam and Dean. "Come on, we need to get people on the line." The men lowered their guns and walked off with the darker skinned man.

Dean and Sam stood there for a moment and sighed.

"Dude, what the fuck? How are we gonna get out if this?"

"Sam? Dean?" Shia said as she orbed into their cell. Dean and Sam gave each other a look and charged at Shia, hugging her tightly.

"I've never been so glad to see you." Dean told his wife as he clinged to her tighter.

"What the hell did you two do?!" Shia asked. Suddenly the lights shut off.

"Oh that can't be good." Dead said.

"Ya think?" Shia said as she looked around the dark room. "Who the hell is that guy? The agent?"

"Agent Henriksen. The agent I told you about. He knows about you...he thinks we keep you as hostage."

"If only he knew the truth." Sam said. Shia nodded at both of them, then she noticed Dean's wound.

"We should take a look at that." Shia said. Sam and Dean sat down at the same time. Shia walked over to help Dean but she heard someone coming so she orbed away into the other cell. She felt like she was becoming weak from using so much power.

"All right, don't be such a wuss." Sam said as he was putting pressure on Dean's gunshot wound on his shoulder. Henriksen walked up to their cell, peeved off.

"What's the plan? Kill everyone in the station, bust you two out?" The agent asked.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean asked looking from his wound to Henriksen.

"I'm talking about your psycho friends. I'm talking about a blood bath." Shia rolled her eyes at how melodramatic Agent Henriksen was being.

"Okay, I promise you – whoever's out there? is not here to help us." Dean told the man.

"Look, you got to believe us. Everyone here is in terrible danger." Sam informed the agent, but from the look on his face...he wasn't buying it.

"You think?" Henriksen asked.

"Why don't you let us out of here so we can save your asses?" Dean said, growing annoyed with the whole situation.

"From what?" There was a pause, while Sam and Dean looked away. "You gonna say "demons"?" Henriksen raised his gun, pointed at the ceiling, for emphasis. "Don't you dare say "demons". Let me tell you something. You should be a lot more scared of me." The man glared at the Winchester brothers before leaving. Shia silently cursed at the agent.

"How's the shoulder?" Sam asked.

Dean took away a pad of toilet paper with a large blood stain on it. "It's awesome." He tossed away the pad. "I'll live. You know, if we get out of here alive. So you got a plan? Shia, any plans?" Dean asked looking her way towards the other cell. She shook her head, she then motioned her head for them to look towards their right to see the girl from earlier, Nancy, standing there.

"Hey, uh, please. Please. We need your help. It's… it's Nancy. Nancy, right?" Sam asked. Nancy just looked at Sam. "Nancy, my… my brother's been shot. He's… He's bleeding really bad. You think maybe you could get us a towel? Please? Just one clean towel?" Nancy's face showed that she was not sure and still a bit afraid. "Look. Look at us. We're not the bad guys. I swear."

Dean gave Nancy a smile and she left them. Sam sighed.

"Nice try." Shia whispered to Sam from where she was standing. Sam sighed again, then turned around and saw that Nancy came back with a clean towel.

"Thank you." Sam said. Shia smiled from the distance. Nancy came closer to the boys, carefully.

"It's okay." Sam said as he held out his handcuffed hands. Nancy placed the towel inside the bars while Sam smiled at her. She smiled back. Suddenly, Sam grabbed Nancy's arm and dragged her against the bars. Nancy screamed. Dean shared a look with Shia, before officer Phil ran in with his rifle.

"Let her go! Let her go!" Sam let Nancy go. She backed away, scared. Officer Phil pointed the gun at Sam. "You're okay, Nance?" He asked before looking at Sam again. "Try something again, get shot. And not in the arm."

"Okay." Phil and Nancy walked away. As soon as they left, Shia sighed and said, "Really, Sam?" Dean then hit Sam on the arm.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, seriously. Sam held up Nancy's rosary. Dean chuckled. softly.

"I'll be damned. College boy is smart." Shia said from the cell she was hiding in. Sam looked over to her with his bitch face. Shia chuckled.

"You hiding out over there?" Dean asked her.

"Until the coast is 100% clear." Shia said with a nod. Shia then motioned to the rosary in Sam's hand. "Start praying over your toilet water."

~••~

It was a little over an hour, and Shia was bored out of her mind. Dean was pressing the towel to his wound, sitting on the bed next to Sam.

"We're like sitting ducks in here." Sam said. Shia chuckled as she moved around freely.

"Yeah, I know. Would it kill these cops to BRING US A SNACK?!" Dean shouted when he mentioned his need for a snack.

"The situation you two are in, food is the last thing on my mind." Shia mumbled. Dean looked over at his annoyed wife.

"How's Lynx?"

"She's fine, Dean. Should be keeping Bobby on his toes, that's for sure." Shia told Dean. "Like your care, anyways." Sam, as always, felt the tension build between Shia and his brother. It's a constant thing, they always fight. Sam knew it was probably...well...he doesn't know why they fight.

"How many you figure are out there?" Sam as

Dean took his gaze off Shia to look at Sam. "I don't know."

"However many they are, they could be possessing anyone. Anyone could just walk right in."

"It's kind of wild, right? I mean it's like they're coming for us. They've never done that before." Dean said with a smile. "It's like we got a contract on us. Think it's because we're so awesome? I think it's 'cause we're so awesome." He smiled again, but stopped smiling after Sam and Shia looked at him, unamused. The Sheriff came in and unlocked their cell. Shia's eyes went her powerful blue, white color as she was ready for something to happen.

"Well, howdy, there, sheriff." Dean greeted sarcastically. Dean and Sam stood up while the Sheriff opened the cell door.

"Uh, sheriff?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's time to go, boys." The sheriff told them. Dean and Sam took a step back as the Sheriff, Melvin, came into the cell.

"Uh… you know what? We're – we're just comfy right here. But thank you." Dean said with a nod. Shia's stomach churned when she notice Agent Henriksen walk to the door of the cell.

"What do you think you're doing?" Henriksen asked.

"We're not just gonna sit around here and wait to die. We're gonna make a run for it." The sheriff informed him.

"It's safer here."

"There's a SWAT facility in Boulder."

Henriksen walked in the cell. "We're not going anywhere."

"The hell we're not." The sheriff said. Suddenly, Henriksen shot Melvin in the head. Shia orbed in the cell. She used her powers to fling the gun out of Henriksen's hand and threw him towards the toilet where Sam took a hold of him. Then, Phil ran into the holding cell but Dean grabbed the gun and pointed at Phil while Sam started the exorcism.

"Stay back!" Dean said. Henriksen lifted his head up out of the water. His face is burning and he yelled. Sam shoved him back into the toilet bowl, in which Nancy's rosary was floating. Sam continued the exorcism. Nancy came around the corner.

"Hurry up, Sam!" Shia said to Sam as she stared down Phil who stared, wide-eyed at her. The agent lifted his head again. His eyes were black.

"It's too late. I already called them. They're already coming." Sam shoved him back into the water and finished the exorcism. Henriksen screamd as black smoke shot out of his mouth and up to the air vent in the ceiling. Henriksen fell to the floor as Sam breathed heavily.

"Is he… is he dead?" Nancy asked, afraid of the answer. Henriksen regained consciousness and coughed.

"Henriksen! Hey. Is that you in there?" Sam asked. The agent got up and sat on the bed.

"I… I shot the sheriff."

Dean smiled after a pause. "But you didn't shoot the deputy." Shia rolled her eyes and hit Dean on his arm while Sam glared at Dean in disbelief.

"Five minutes ago, I was fine, and then…"

"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" Dean asked.

"You were possessed."

"Possessed, like… possessed?" The agent asked, still grasping what just happened.

"That's what it feels like. Now you know."

"I owe the biggest "I told you so" ever." Dean said as he gave Henriksen back his gun. Henriksen looked at Shia and raised his eyebrow.

"Who are you?"

"A demi god that's going to save your ass. Now, get the keys and unlock the locks on my boys." Shia said as she walked out the room. Henriksen watched her go and then turned around to look at Sam and Dean who had smug smiles on their faces.

"Officer Amici. Keys..." Phil have the agent the keys. Sam and Dean's chains fall to the floor.

"All right, so how do we survive?"

~••~

Sam drew a devil's trap on the floor with spray paint. Dean looked at the floor plans to the police station, on which two devil's traps are drawn, while Shia took care of his wound. Nancy watched her take care of Dean, she also noticed that with his free arm, Dean had it wrapped around Shia's waist with his hand on the small of her back. Phil and Henriksen prepared guns.

"We got an arsenal here."

"You don't poke a bear with BB gun. That's just gonna make them mad." Dean said with a light chuckle.

"What do you need?" Henriksen asked.

"Salt. Lots and lots of salt." Shia told the men as she crossed her arms.

"Salt?"

"What, is there an echo in here?" Dean asked the men.

"There's road salt in the storeroom." Nancy said shyly.

"Perfect. Perfect. We need salt at every window and every door." Dean told them. Shia nodded in agreement. The two men left to go retrieve the salt.

"How you holdin' up, Nancy?" Shia asked as she continued to patch Dean up.

"Okay." Nancy said before she paused. "When I was little, I would come home from the church and start to talk about the devil. And my parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

"Yeah. I'll say." Shia said before adding a last piece of tape to her husband'a bandage. "That should hold."

"Thank you." Dean said before leaning over to kiss Shia's lips softly.

"No problem." Shia told him. Dean kissed her once more. Nancy avoided watching them kiss. Phil came in with bags of salt.

"Hey, where's my car?" Dean asked Phil.

"Impound lot out back."

"Okay." Dean said as he got off the table and walked over to the exit.

"Wait. You're not going out there?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, I got to get something out of my trunk." Dean said with a smirk. Shia grabbed his hand before he walked off.

"Do you need help?" Shia asked.

"No, I got it." Dean told her before he walked off.

~••~

Shia was loading her gun with salt when Dean ran in.

"They're coming! Hurry." Black smoke hits the window that Nancy was at, and she screamed. Nancy, Sam, Shia and Dean ran to the main office area, where Henriksen was. Dean tossed a gun to Sam. It was suddenly dark and quiet.

"Everybody okay?" Sam asked.

"Define "okay"." Henriksen said.

"All right, everybody needs to put these on." Dean said as he gave each of them a protection necklace. "They'll keep you from being possessed. There you go."

"What about you and Sam? And Shia?" Nancy asked. Dean and Sam showed their matching protection symbol tattoos on their chests.

"Smart. How long you had those?" Henriksen asked.

"Not long enough." Sam said with a sigh. Nancy looked at Shia.

"Where's your tattoo?"

"I don't have one. I can't get possessed. I'm a demi god." Shia told the woman. The three people gave her a look that she knew all too well. "I will not show you my powers, so don't get any ideas."

~••~

Shia was writing down how many openings there are in the jailhouse building. She was making notes on as well.

"Shotgun shells full of salt." Henriksen said to Dean. Shia looked up to see the men talking.

Dean continued to fill his rock salt gun. "Whatever works."

"Fighting off monsters with condiments." Henriksen said as he took off his tie. "So. Turns out demons are real." The agent started to fill his rifle with salt shells.

"FYI, ghosts are real too. So are werewolves, vampires, changelings, evil clowns that eat people."

"Okay then." The man said after a pause.

"If it makes you feel better, Bigfoot's a hoax." Dean said with a smile. Shia over heard the comment and smiled to herself.

"It doesn't. How many demons?"

"Total? No clue. A lot."

"You know what my job is?" Henriksen asked.

"You mean besides locking up the good guys?" Dean said before walking over to Henriksen. "I have no idea."

"My job is boring, it's frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe you can save ... a few people. Maybe. That's the payoff. I've been busting my ass for 15 years to nail a handful of guys and all this while, there's something off in the corner so big. So yeah… sign me up for that big, frosty mug of wasting my damn life."

"You didn't know." Dean simply said.

"Now I do." There was a pause. "What's out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"

"Honestly? I think the world's gonna end bloody. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't fight. We do have choices. I choose to go down swingin'." Dean said with a grunt. Shia rolled her eyes as she continued to write.

"Plus you got nothing to go home to but your brother."

"Not true." Dean said as he shook his head as he pulled out a small picture of him, Lynx, and Shia. "I got a wife and a baby." Henriksen looked at a picture, then his eyes widen. He looked over there at Shia and back at Dean.

"She's your wife?"

"Oh yeah. I love that girl. She's always keeping on my toes."

"I imagine." Henriksen said with a chuckle, he looked at the picture once more and stared at the baby girl. "She looks like you, you know?"

"Oh, I know." Dean said with a grin. "I get it all the time." Henriksen smiled before giving the photo back to Dean. "What about you? What do you got waiting for you?"

"Mmm-mm. Empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives. I wish I was right where you were." The agent said with a chuckle.

"Imagine that." Dean said with a nod. There was a crash and Dean, Shia and Henriksen ran into the office where Phil broke the salt line, followed by Sam. A woman had broken in.

"How do we kill her?" Henriksen asked pointing his gun at the demon, Ruby.

"We don't." Sam said lowering Henriksen's gun.

"Unfortunately." Shia mumbled. Dean smirked and placed his arms around her shoulders.

"She's a demon." Henriksen said in a confused way.

"She's here to help us." Sam said. Phil and Nancy looked around the corner.

"Are you kidding?" Phil asked. Ruby was standing near the window, breathing heavily. Dean sighed in exasperation.

"Are you gonna let me out?" Ruby asked in a sassy way. Shia folded her fist, wanting to punch the demon out of that girl. The agent looked at Dean. Sam scratched the devil's trap on the floor with his knife so Ruby could get in.

"And they say chivalry's dead. Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here."

"Don't get cocky, bitch." Shia told Ruby. The demon looked at her and smirked. Ruby walked past everyone into the main office. Dean, Shia and Henriksen followed her, while Sam stayed to fix the salt line.

~••~

Everyone was now standing around in the main office of the jailhouse.

"How many are out there?" Dean asked.

"30 at least. That's so far." Ruby told him. Dean scoffed.

"Oh, good. 30. 30 hit men all gunning for us."

"Who sent them?" Shia asked as she crossed her arms. Ruby looked at Sam, who was now standing in the doorway.

"You didn't tell them?" Ruby asked the taller Winchester. Dean looked at Sam, confused. Shia kept her eyes on Ruby.

"Oh, I'm surprised."

"Tell us what?" Shia asked.

"There's a big new up and corner. Real pied piper." Ruby told her.

"Who is he?" Dean asked, getting serious.

"Not he. Her. Her name is Lilith."

"Lilith? Sounds too close to Lucifer." Shia said, when she looked at the demon she could see that she tensed up. Maybe Ruby isn't all that innocent. Shia was on to this demon, damn well didn't trust her.

"And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. 'Cause she sees him as competition."

"You knew about this?" Dean asked. Sam didn't answer. "Well, gee, Sam. Is there anything else I should know?!"

"Lilith wants your daughter." Ruby whispered as she looked down. Shia and Dean shared a look. Shia stepped closer to the demon.

"What did you just say?"

"In the near future, Lilith is going to want your daughter. Sam knows all about it." Ruby explained. Shia turned around a stared at the younger Winchester.

"You knew about this, Sam? She's your niece, my baby! If she could be in danger soon, you fucking let me or Dean know! Hell, both of is should know" Shia said as she inches closer to Sam. Her eyes were becoming a fie orange color.

"Shia—" Sam started to say.

"How about the two of you talk about this later?" Ruby said, cutting Sam off. "We'll need the Colt." Ruby looked at Sam, who didn't meet her eyes. She then looked at Dean. "Where's the Colt?"

"It got stolen." Sam admitted.

"I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands. Fantastic. This is just peachy…"

"Ruby…"

"Shut up." Ruby said as she raised her hand. Henriksen raised his eyebrow at the action. "Fine. Since I don't see that there's no other any option. There's one other way I know how to get you out of here alive."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included. So, you let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?"

"Okay, what do we need to do?" Dean asked, not really caring if Ruby died or not.

"Aww… you can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue." Ruby told Dean.

"I got virtue." Dean said with a nod. Shia was hella pissed but she couldn't help but smirk when Dean said he had virtue.

"Nice try. You're not a virgin. You have a kid." Ruby said with a chuckle.

Dean laughed. "Nobody's a virgin."

Ruby looked at Dean, then at Nancy, who looked away. Shia raised her eyebrow.

"No. No way. You're kidding me, r–. You're…"

"What? It's a choice, okay?" Nancy said shyly, with a hint of sass.

"So, y-you've never… Not even once? I mean not even – Wow." Dean said with true amazement. Shia rolled her eyes and pinched Dean to get him to shut up.

"So, this spell. What can I do?" Nancy asked sweetly as she smiled at Ruby.

"You can hold still ... while I cut your heart out of your chest." Ruby said as she walked over to Nancy. Shia quickly walked to stand in front of Nancy.

"What?" Nancy asked with wide eyes.

"What? Are you crazy?" Dean asked.

"I'm offering a solution."

"You're offering to kill somebody." Shia said gravely.

"And what do you think's gonna happen to this girl when the demons get in?" Ruby asked Shia.

"We're gonna protect her. That's what." Henriksen answered for her.

"Excuse me." Nancy said, now standing beside Shia.

"Very noble." Ruby smarted off to the agent.

"Ex– excuse me." Nancy stuttered.

"You're all gonna die. Look. This is the only way."

"Yeah, yeah. There's no way that you're gonna—" Dean started to say.

"Would everybody please shut up?!" Everyone looked at Nancy. "All the people out there… will it save them?"

"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay… yeah."

Nancy took a long paused, but then she nodded. "I'll do it."

"Hell no." Henriksen said.

"No, no." Dean said as he shook his head. "Hell don't need to do this."

"All my friends are out there." Nancy told them.

"We don't sacrifice people. We do that, we're no better than them." The agent said. Dean actually nodded in agreement.

"We don't have a choice." Ruby said.

"Yeah, well, your choice is not a choice." Dean told her.

"Sam, you know I'm right." Ruby said to Sam. Dean and Ruby looked at Sam, who was silent. Dean smiled slightly in the expectation that Sam will agree with him.

"Sam?" Sam said nothing. "What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her."

"It's my decision." Nancy told everyone. Shia sighed, she didn't want to make Nancy not do something she wanted to do, but she also didn't want Nancy to die. The poor hasn't been laid yet.

"Damn straight, cherry pie."

"Stop! Stop! Nobody kill any virgins. Sam, I need to talk to you." Dean yelled before grabbing Sam and walking into the hallway.

Shia watched them leave, she was going to follow them but decided not to. Instead, she turned to Ruby.

"What does that bitch want with my baby?" Shia asked.

"Your baby has power. Lilith wants more power." Ruby said. Shia started at her, the demon looked down at her feet. Shia walked over to her and punched her in the jaw. Ruby bent over and looked up at the demi god.

"That's not the whole truth!" Shia yelled, before she could smack Ruby again, Sam was there to stop her.

"Shia, no!" Sam said as he pulled Shia away from Ruby. Shia jerked herself away from him and slapped him.

"How could you take her side, Sam?!" Shia angrily said. Dean grabbed his wife and pulled her to the side.

"Calm down, Shia." Dean whispered in her ear. Shia almost instantly calmed down under her husband's touch.

"So, what's the plan?" Ruby asked from across the room.

"We let them in. And we fight." Dean told her.

~••~

Sam walked out of the room he was in for the past thirty minutes.

"Get the equipment to work?" Dean asked as he held on to Shia as he used his thumb to rub a circle pattern on the exposed skin of her waist.

"Yeah."

"So?" Dean asked.

"So this is insane." Sam said.

"You win "understatement of the year."" Ruby commented.

"Who asked you?" Shia bitterly asked the demon.

"Look, I get it, you think—" Dean started to say.

"I don't think… I know. It's not gonna work." Ruby said before she stood up and started to leave. "So long, boys."

"So, you're just gonna leave?" Sam asked, almost sadly.

"Hey. I was gonna kill myself to help you win. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose." Ruby said before walking closer to Sam. "And I'm disappointed because I tried. I really did, but clearly I bet on the wrong horse." Sam said nothing. "Do you mind letting me out?" Sam walked Ruby out. Once thy were gone, Shia turned to Dean.

"I don't like the sexual tension between them." Shia said.

"You're telling me." Dean said with a grunt. "Let's get ready to do this."

~••~

Shia stood in front of her opened door, then suddenly two bigger demons come running in.

"Really? You possess fat guys?" Shia asked. The demons ran towards her, she pulled out her gun and shot them both with rock salt. The were hurt but they continued to come towards her. She punched the first demon while she kicked the other one in the face. The demon she punched grabbed her arm and turned her around to face the other demon. He smiled wickedly at her before chocking her. Shia decided I make her eyes turn her blue, white power color as she pushed the demon through the wall and into the room he was supposed to go.

The demon holding onto her loosened his grip on her, allowing her to turn around and throw him into the room as well. Shia walked through the big whole she made, she then noticed all the demons surrounding Sam and Dean.

"Henriksen, now!" Dean yelled his signal. Shia ran over and started to fight the demon who had Sam and Dean on it's hold. Dean watched the two women fight viscously, he wife was kicking ass.

Shia kicked the girl in the abdomen and grabbed her head to pin her down.

"I'm not around of demi gods!" She screeched. Shia smirked.

"You should be." Shia said before using her power to grab the demon out of the lady, turning the black smoke into white smoke...killing the demon. The other demons froze at what they saw. Henriksen finally got the equipment to work and the sound of Sam's voice saying an exorcism came on, making the demons run in fear to which they didn't get far.

Moments later, the demons were dead. Dean and Sam fell from the hold they were in and suddenly the electricity was back on. Shia weakly stood up. Henriksen ran in with a chuckle. Dean and Sam nodded at each other.

"Nice plan, Dean." Shia said weakly. "It worked." Dean looked over at Shia's state and rushed over to her.

"I'm okay, Dean."

~••~

"I better call in. Hell of a story I won't be telling." The agent said to the brothers and Shia.

"So what are you gonna tell them?" Sam asked.

"The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes."

"Good luck with that. Not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?" Dean asked.

"I'm gonna kill you." There was a small paused. Shia raises her eyebrow at the agent. "Sam and Dean Winchester were in the chopper when it caught on fire. Nothing left. Can't even identify them with dental records." Sam smiled. "Rest in peace, guys." Sam and Dean shook hands with Henriksen. The agent turned to Shia and bowed. Shia smirked. Dean and Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Now get out of here." Henriksen said.

"Yeah…" Sam as he started to walk off with Shia and Dean following. They leave as the agent placed a call.

~March 7, 2008 (approximately 12:48 p.m.) Motel room~

The trio got as far away from the town as possible. They were all tired and decided to get cleaned up and rest. Shia was in the bathroom, talking to Bobby over the phone about Lynx. Sam was lying on his back on a bed when there was a knock at the door. Sam sat up and Dean opened the door. It was Ruby. Shia then walked out the bathroom.

Ruby walked into the room. "Turn on the news." Sam turned on the television.

"The community is still reeling from the tragedy that happened just a few hours ago. Authorities believe a gas main ruptured..." The news reported echoed in the room. Dean sat down on the other bed opposite of Sam, pulling Shia into his lap. "...causing the massive explosion that ripped apart the police station and claimed the lives of everyone inside. Among the deceased, at least six police officers and staff, including sheriff Melvin Dodd, deputy Phil Amici, and secretary Nancy Fitzgerald as well as three FBI agents, identified as Steven Groves, Calvin Reidy, and Victor Henriksen."

"Oh my God." Shia said, barely above a whisper.

"Two fugitives in custody were also killed. We'll continue to follow the story here at the scene, but for now, back to you, Jim." Ruby turned off the television and looked at Sam, Shia, and Dean with an "I-told-you-so" look.

"Must have happened right after we left." Sam said with a sigh.

"Considering the size of the blast..." Ruby tossed hex bags to Dean, Shia and Sam. "... smart money's on Lilith."

"What's in these?" Dean asked the blonde demon.

"Something that'll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail… for the time being, at least."

"Thanks." Sam told her.

"Don't thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin, plus a half a dozen other people. So after your big speech about humanity and war, turns out your plan? was the one with the body count. Do you know how to run a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors. So no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time… we go with my plan." Ruby said before she left. Dean looked at Sam. Shia looked at both of the brothers.

"That bitch." Shia said. The brothers turned to look at her. "We tried. And sometimes when you try...you fail. It's apart of life...it's a part of being a hunter."

"That's scary." Dean said as he stared at his wife and looked back at Sam.

"What?" Shia asked them.

"We hear a little John Winchester in you." Sam told her. Shia smirked and shook her head.

"We should get going. Lynx's been fussy since I've been gone. Daddy's getting tired and he needs sleep, so we need to go get her." Shia told the boys before grabbing Dean's keys and walking out. Dean and Sam looked at each other before smiling sadly.

~until next time...

Hey! Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Please, leave a comment or review! :)

Thanks.


	43. Ghostfacers (3x13)

Ghost...Ghostfacers. We face the ghosts when the others will not. We're Ghost...Ghostfacers. Stay in the kitchen when the kitchen gets hot. Ghost...Ghostfacers. We face the nightmare, we face the dread. Ghost...Ghostfacers. We face the faces, we face the dead! When you trip and fall into the supernatural, we're who you're gonna call. We face them all! Ghost...Ghostfacers. We face the faces, we face the dead! We're Ghost...Ghostfacers! — Unknown

~••~••~••~••~

Ghostfacers (3x13) — I changed a few elements.

~March 10, 2008 (approx. 7:34 a.m.) MOTEL ROOM~

Sam sat in chair as he fed Lynx applesauce while he read more information on demon deals. Dean was still asleep. Shia walked out the bathroom, she looked over at Sam and sighed.

"I see you're reading...again."

"Is there a problem?" Sam retorted back. Shia raised an eyebrow at the younger Winchester.

"No, but I'm sure it's exhausting. Every book, website page, and fortune cookie you read for Dean has the same result. Dean is going to die...and he's going to hell." Shia told Sam as she picked up Lynx out of her highchair. Sam stared at Sam in bewilderment.

"How can you say that like you've made peace with it?" Sam asked her. Shia said nothing, she looked away from Sam's eyes. "Shia? He's your husband!"

"Keep your voice down, Sam!" Shia scolded the young man before placing her baby in her play pin. Lynx looked up at her mom but then looked at her toys. Instead of whining for her mom, Lynx crawled over to her toys. Shia turned around and folded her arms. "I know he's my husband. I just...I'm tired, Sam. Everything feels like a dead end and I'm tired. Dean knew there was no breaking his deal when he kissed that demon bitch to bring you back."

"Shia—"

"Everything is unfair, Sam. Not just for me or you but it's unfair for that little baby over there who will grow up without her daddy. So, I'm not pissed off at you or Dean...I'm disappointed in him...he chose —"

"Me over you and his family, I know." Sam said softly.

"And it's always going to be like that." Shia said. There was silence for moments, Shia sighed and got up. "I need some air. I'll see you later. Watch Lynx, please."

Sam didn't say anything, even though he wanted to; instead, he watched her leave.

~•~ March 10, 2008 (approx. 1:25 p.m.) ~•~ MOTEL ROOM

"Ahhhhh!" Lynx cried as her mom held her close. The baby was upset because she hit her head on the wooden table they had in their motel. Shia was bouncing her daughter up and down, trying to soothe her tears. She was alone with her child while Sam and Dean were out either getting food or arguing, maybe both.

"I'm telling you, Dean...it's a bad idea." Sam said as he carried the food into the motel room. Dean was about reply but he heard his little girl crying, he walked past Sam towards his baby and placed a hand on her head.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked his wife.

"She hit her head on the table over there." Shia told him pointing to the table.

"You weren't watching her?" Dean took the crying baby from Shia and started bouncing around, and just like that she was calm.

"Well, excuse me for having to do eight things at one fucking time, Dean." Shia said as she crossed her arms.

"What did you just say?" Dean asked.

"You heard me."

Sam felt like, once again, an argument was going to happen so he grabbed Lynx from Dean and walked out.

"What's your problem? You're always pissed for no reason."

"No reason? Right." Shia scoffed as she walked back over to the counter, gathering up finger foods for Lynx to have for lunch. Dean sighed and walked over to her, he looked to see what she was doing.

"You were making her lunch when she hit her head, weren't you?"

"Yes. I was." Shia said as she finished preparing the small plate, she turned around to see the the baby was gone and so was Sam. "And she's not here to eat it. Great." Dean took the plate from her a placed it back on the counter. He grabbed Shia's hand and pulled her close to him.

"I don't want you to hate me." Dean told her. Shia sighed.

"I could never hate you, Dean." Shia told him just as she placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm stressed. With everything." Dean turned his face slightly to the left to kiss Shia's palm, he then placed his hand over hers and started kissing her fingers.

"I know, baby. I do." Dean sighed. "I wish I could go back and change everything but I can't."

"I know you can't."

"I just want to enjoy the time we have together before—"

"Yeah. I know." Dean leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Shia's lips. Shia, of course, kissed back. The kiss slowly became more and more passionate. Dean then walked her over to the bed and enjoyed the passionate bliss they share with each other.

~•~

"Morton house? Are you insane, Dean?" Shia asked her husband as she packed Lynx's baby bag.

"I asked him the same thing." Sam said as he rocked the sleeping baby on his shoulder.

"Guys, it shouldn't be that bad. We do this for living, it should be a piece of cake. I've always wanted to go."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Are you forgetting the fact that no one has lived to tell the tale of how wonderful it is to stay over night?"

"I agree with Sam, babe." Shia said as she turned to look at Dean, crossing her arms. "Do you really want to risk our lives going in there? I mean, think about her." Shia pointed at the baby in Sam's arms. "What if we don't make it out and never see her again?"

"Babe. We can handle this. What if we don't go and whatever is in there continues to kill more dumbass people. The house is haunted every full moon. We have two chances left to do this." Dean told her. Shia looked at Sam and Sam was staring at Dean, he looked over at Shia and sighed.

"Okay. We'll do it."

"Alright." Dean said with a smirk. His smirk fell when he noticed his daughter in Sam's arms. "Who's going to keep Lynx?"

"I don't know. My daddy is not home, he's working on a case. Kate and Micheal are celebrating their 7th wedding anniversary. Julius and Tasha are working on a case. So..."

"She's not coming with us. I'll be damned. It's too dangerous."

"Ah. Tell me about it." Shia said sarcastically. They sat there for a moment, Shia pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Hey! Yes, it's me! Are you at daddy's yet? Okay. I need a favor. Will ya keep Lynx for me? You will? Okay. Thanks!" Shia hung up the phone with a smile. "Alright, we're heading to Bobby's."

"And who's going to be there?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Michelle." Shia answered as she gathered her things. Dean was confused.

"Who the fuck is Michelle and how do we know her?"

"She used to go by Tanner. My sister Dean. She's back." Shia told him. Sam held his breathe. He didn't think heard her right.

"Tanner's back? Since when?" Sam asked.

"Since a couple of nights ago. I thought she told you."

"No, she didn't." Sam said as he looked down. "I haven't emailed her back in months."

"Well, now, you get to see her." Shia told him as she walked out the room. "Dean! Come pop the trunk!"

"Okay." Dean said as he got up with his keys. 'I'm so whipped.' Dean thought as he shook his head.

Sam stood there for a moment before putting the baby in her car seat. He sighed to himself as he grabbed his things and Lynx before walking out of the motel door.

~•~ (BOBBY's HOUSE [10:54 p.m.]) ~•~

The young Demi god sat at the kitchen table reading a book about the prophecy powers of three.

"When the world is swallowed by darkness, only the power of three can forbid it. For they are the true powerful ones..." Michelle read out loud. "Hmm. Maybe I should highlight this."

There were car headlights that shine through the room. Michelle looked up and smiled. "They're here."

Michelle could hear her sister's talking to someone, she assumed it was Dean. But then she saw three tall figures. Sam. Dean. And Shia. Michelle's heart sunk, she didn't really expect to see Sam.

Shia opened the door and turned on the kitchen lights, she jumped a little when she saw Michelle sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why the hell are you sitting in the dark?" Shia asked as she walked over and gave her a hug with one arm because she was carrying a car seat in the other.

"I had my flashlight. Good to see you are still the same." Michelle said with a smile.

"It's only been a few months almost a year, not a life time." Shia said with a chuckle. Dean and Sam walked in shortly after. Michelle looked at both of the men and smiled, her eyes did stop on the man she fell in love with.

"Hey, Sam." Michelle greeted from the distant. Sam smiled at her, he was lost for words. She looked so much different from the last time he saw her. Her hair was longer, it had big curls, her face looked a little more mature, she wore tight fitted jeans and a blouse which complimented her figure.

Dean and Shia looked between the two people and then looked at each other. "This is awkward." Dean said.

Michelle chuckled. "You're right. So, where's the baby?"

"She's right here." Shia said as she placed the car seat on the kitchen table. Michelle removed the blanket that was placed over the car seat so she could look at her niece. He heart melted, the baby was asleep but she could still see her growing features.

"My God. She looks like Dean. I mean, she has some of your feature Shia but she's more like Dean." Michelle said. "She's gotten so big! She'll be a year old in two months. Can you believe it?"

"No, I can't." Dean said. "I don't want to think about it. She's growing up too fast." Shia looked at Dean and sent him a sad smile. She knew why he didn't really want to think about it.

"You all should get going, right?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah, we should be heading out if we want to get there in time." Sam said with a nod, he looked at Dean and Shia; he was silently asking them to leave. Shia raised her eyebrow but took the hint.

"Right! Sam's right." Shia said giving a look to Dean. Her husband smiled awkwardly at Michelle. The parents went over and kissed their child before leaving the door. Sam watched them go, but then turned back around to get one more look at Michelle.

"So, you go by Michelle now?" Sam asked as he stood there with his hands in his pocket. Michelle crossed her arms and grinned.

"Yeah, I do. There's a story behind it but I'm not sure if you have the time to hear about any time soon."

"I want to hear about sometime. You know, whenever the time is right. Are you here for good?" Sam asked curiously.

"I've finished my studies...so, yeah. I'm back now." Michelle said with a small smile. There was silence between them for a moment, there was so much he wanted to ask her...so much he wanted to say. And just as he was gathering the words...there was a honk from outside the kitchen door coming from the beloved impala. Sam sighed disappointingly. "I'll see you later then, huh?"

"Yeah...later." Sam said awkwardly as he walked out the kitchen backdoor. Michelle turned to the baby, who was sitting there quietly.

"Your uncle is a strange man." Michelle said with a chuckle. "Wait. Why are you quiet?"

Lynx then smiled and giggled. The foul smell of her diaper creeped to Michelle's nose. "Oh! Looks like you left me a present." Lynx laughed once again.

~March 11, 2008 (approx. 10:21 p.m.) MORTON's HOUSE~

"Dean, turn the music down! If someone was out here snooping around they'd hear us." Shia told her husband after she playfully smacked the back of his head.

"Why'd you hit me?" Dean whined.

"Because you don't listen to me when I don't!" Shia said with a scoff. "Alright, Sam, you have the information we gathered?"

"Yeah." Sam said, showing her the folder he held. Shia nodded and turned around to look at the house.

"I have a really bad feeling about this." Shia said as she shook her head. Dean kissed her cheek before walking forward.

"You have a bad feeling about every case we have." Dean said as he continued to walk.

~•~

The trio walked in the halls of the Morton house, Sam flashed his flashlight around and stopped walking when he noticed something strange.

"Guys, is this house under observation or something?" Sam asked as he flashed his light towards a camera that sat between a corner on the wall. Shia squinted her eyes and shook her head.

"Well, I wouldn't think so. Someone looking for proof? They ain't gonna find it." Dean said with a scoff.

"Guys, someone's here...tonight." Shia said with a sigh as she heard voices coming from another room. Dean and Sam listened closely, once they heard voices as well, they shared a look of annoyance. "Should we scared the shit out of 'em?"

"If we don't, Morton will." Dean said before walking towards the sounds of the voices. Sam followed after, then Shia.

Seconds later, the trio busted into the room.

(Now, starting the "Ghostfacers" Tv show.)

"Freeze! Police officers! Don't move!" Dean shouted with his flashlight shining in the eyes of the people they were hazing.

"Listen to him! He said don't move!" Shia said as she pointed her gun, which was on safety mode, towards the men.

"All right. All right. All right. Take it easy, take it easy." Sam said, instantly playing his character as the "good" cop.

"Let's see some identification." Dean said sternly.

"Come on. Let's see some I.D." Sam said.

"What - are we under - under arrest?" The young man asked nervously before handing Dean his I.D.

"We are unarmed." The man with glasses told the trio. Shia looked at him as if she knew him an realization dawned upon her. 'Oh, shit. We're going to be fucked if we don't get them out of here before midnight.' Shia thought.

"Oh, god. Oh, god." The young man said nervously with his eyes closed once he noticed Shia pointing her gun at him.

"Want to explain that weirdo outfit, Mr., uh, Corbett?" Dean asked when he looked from his I.D. to his attire. Shia rolled her eyes, she didn't care about the outfit...she wanted to get these guys out safe.

"I know you." The man with glasses, known as Ed, said as he pointed at Dean.

"Yeah, sure you do." Dean said dismissing Ed. "Give me some identification."

"Yeah, ho- whoa, hold on a second. I know all three of you. Yeah." Ed said with confidence.

"What?" Corbett asked with confusion.

"Yeah, huh." Ed said as he nodded his head with a smile. Shia lowered her gun and looked at the boys.

"Guys, he knows us. Remember?" Shia asked them. Sam was the first to recognize him.

"Holy S***!" Sam said as he looked at the man.

"You two mind filling me in here?" Dean asked his wife and brother.

"West Texas, Dean?" Shia told him. Dean still didn't remember.

"The... the tulpa we had to take out. Those two goofballs that almost got us killed... The hellhounds or something?" Sam summarized for Dean. It took a second but Dean started to remember.

"F*** me." Dean said in annoyance.

"Yeah, we're not hellhounds anymore, okay? It didn't test that well." Ed told them.

"I'm surprised." Shia said with sarcasm.

"Ed, what's going on?" Corbett asked, he wasn't too scared or nervous anymore but he was confused.

"They're not cops, buddy - no, not at all."

"Ed, Ed, you had a partner, too, didn't you - A different guy?" Dean asked.

"Henry? Hotchner? Something like that." Shia told Dean as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, yeah, yeah." Ed said with a nod.

"Is he around here somewhere?" Dean asked.

"He's running around, chasing ghosts."

"Okay, well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here." Dean told them with a serious expression.

"All right. Listen here, chisel chest, okay? We were here first. We've already set up base camp. We beat you." Ed told Dean with determination and confidence, Shia knew he was scared shitless of Dean.

"They were here first." Dean said to Sam and Shia.

"Mm hmm." Ed nodded in agreement with Dean. He didn't expect Dean to grab him by his shirt.

"Ed..." Dean said. Ed whimpered in response. "...where's your partner?" Shia sighed before she grabbed Dean's arm, getting him to let the man go.

"I think that's enough male dominance for right now." Shia said before she turned around and smiled sweetly to Ed. "Ed, do you know where Henry is?"

"He's name is Harry." Corbett said.

"Whatever." Shia said, dismissing Corbett comments.

"Um.."

~•~

"What are you doing in the Morton House, Ed - on a full moon - what are you thinking?" Dean asked the bearded man.

"We're here to spend the night, okay? It's for our TV show."

"Someone gave them a Tv show?" Shia whispered to Sam. Sam chuckled and shrugged.

"Why would you do that, Ed?" Sam asked.

"Nobody's ever spent the night before." Corbett answered for Ed.

"Uh, actually, yeah, they have." Dean informed them.

"Uh, we've never heard of them."

"Yeah, you know why? 'Cause the ones that have haven't lived to talk about it!" Dean yelled out of annoyance.

"Oh, come on, I don't believe you." Ed said with a chuckle.

"Look," Sam said as he pulled out information they found earlier. "- missing-persons reports going back almost a half century. John Graham stayed on a dare - gone. Julie Wilkerson - gone. There are tons more. All of them came to just stay the night through, always on a leap year. The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Daggett." Ed picked up the papers to examine them.

"These look legit."

"They are legit. Look, Ed, we ain't got much time here, dude. Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die." Shia told him as she crossed her arms.

Harry, Maggie, and Spruce ran down the stairs and into the living room.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Guys! Guys! Oh, my god! Oh, my god! We got one! Corbett! Corbett, we saw one! We saw one!" The partner, known as Harry, exclaimed. Shia looked at Dean and Sam before she rolled her eyes.

"Get outta here!" Ed said excitedly, but he was a bit sarcastic.

"It was a full apparition! It was like a class four. It was a spectral illumination! It..." Harry started to say.

"It was amazing!" The Asian girl, known as Maggie, finished for him. Harry then noticed Sam and Dean.

"Hey, aren't those the d***s from Texas?" Harry asked, then he noticed Shia standing beside Dean. "And the hot chick?"

"Yes." Ed answered.

"All right, let's have this reunion across the street, guys." Dean said trying to rush the people out before it was too late.

"Crap. What are you guys doing here?" Harry pouted.

"Come on, come on. We'll get you ice cream - our treat. What do you say? Let's go."

"How about we listen to Dean here, guys? I'll pay for extra m&m's on your ice cream." Shia tried helping Dean out but they would not listen.

"Yeah, I say no." Harry said.

"Look at this. Look, look. Ed, Ed. No. No. Look at this. Okay, honest-to-god proof, all right?" Maggie said before showing the group their footage on the laptop.

"Are you kidding me?" Ed said as he watched the video once more.

"Yeah. no, not kidding." Harry said as if he was impressed with himself.

"What kind of reading did we get?" The tall man with curly hair, known as Spruce, asked.

"Uh, it was a 10.9." Harry said with amazement.

"10.9?" Ed asked, the man was impressed with what was brought to him.

"Yeah, it was 10.9. It was almost 11. I came out, and I was like, "what's going on?" And I was like - wait, watch this. Oh! He got blasted. It was crazy."

Sam, Shia and Dean walked away from the group to talk amongst themselves. Spruce followed them, still recording on his camera.

"Think we were off on this? I mean, that was just a death echo." Sam asked, trying to wrap his head around the evidence he just saw.

"Yeah, but what's it doing here? Did anybody get shot here?"

"It's an old house, boys. I'm sure a lot of things happened that was never written down in the records." Shia said trying to justify the seeing of the death echo.

"No, I don't think so." Sam said as he shook his head.

"What's a death echo?" Spruce asked as he interrupted the trio's conversation. They all looked up at him, then looked at each other.

"Look, we got a problem here. That ghost ain't it." Sam told the cameraman.

"Yeah, that's real. Like, that happened." Harry said.

"What's a death echo?" Spruce persisted.

"Echoes are trapped in a loop, okay? They keep replaying how they died over and over and over again, usually in the place where they were ganked. It's about as dangerous as a scary movie." Dean told him.

"So maybe the echo's not dangerous, but maybe something else is." Shia said but meant it towards the boys, not the wannabe ghost hunters.

"Shia's right. All right, we need to get out of here, guys. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Pack it up." Dean said, urging them to pack their shit and get out.

"Guys, time is running out!" Sam tried to tell them.

"Move your asses, people. Let's go." Shia said as she motioned them to the door.

"What about all of our equipment? What are we gonna..." Maggie tried saying but Dean cut her off.

"Lots of fun. Let's go."

"We got more material. We got all kinds of stuff. We'll make you guys recurring guest stars." Harry said right before Shia's hand turned the door knob.

"Wait! Wait!" Ed shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him. "Where's Corbett?"

Shia groaned and rolled her eyes. "Do not tell me the kid went off on his own."

"We'll look for him. Everyone out!" Dean told them.

"No man left behind." Ed said firmly. Suddenly, an anguished scream is heard in the distance. "That was Corbett."

"That was Corbett! Corbett!" Harry shouted.

"Corbett! it's okay! Don't be afraid." Maggie said. Ed, Harry, and Maggie ran upstairs while Sam and Dean protested. Shia stood by the door and sighed. Spruce continued to film them running up the stairs.

"We'll get him! Go back!" Dean yelled.

"Guys! S***!" Sam cursed as he ran after them.

Shia did not attempt to go up the stairs. She stood the playing with her fingernails.

"Aren't you going to run after them?" Spruce asked, camera facing her.

"Nah. Sam and Dean can handle them. I rather stand by the door and open it once we get you guys the hell out of here so we can do our job." Shia told the cameraman as she crossed her arms. "Why aren't you up there?"

"Didn't want to leave you alone." Spruce told her. She smiled softly.

"That's very heroic of you. But, honestly, whatever is here..I can handle it a lot better than you can. This is my profession." Shia told him seriously. Spruce stood there for a moment.

"That's hot." He complimented. Shia said nothing, instead she just continued to stand there. Moments later, they heard the screams of Corbett fade away.

"That can't be good." Shia said under her breath.

~MORTON HOUSE, 12:04 AM March 12th~

"Oh, god, what's happened? Oh, god. He's gone. He just disappeared." Ed said, freaking over Corbett disappearance.

"Okay, let's just go through all the angles. Let's go through all the cameras we have." Harry told them.

"Well, it's 12:04, Dean. You good? You happy?" Sam asked irritated as the trio lingered towards the door.

"Yeah, I am happy." Dean said sarcastically.

'"Let's go hunt the Morton house," you said, "it's our Grand Canyon."' Shia quoted Dean bitterly as she tried to use her powers to blow the door open, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn thing got a supernatural hold on this whole house, the force is strong.

"I don't want to hear the two of you bitch at me." Dean said with an eye roll.

"You got two months left, Dean. Instead, we're gonna die tonight."

Sam picked up a chair and smashed it against the sealed front door.

"We're never going to Lynx again." Shia said sadly as one small tear slipped from her eye, she whipped it away quickly. Dean leaned over towards her.

"Nothing is going to happen. Okay? I'll make sure of that." Dean whispered in his wife's ear. Shia nodded.

"Whoa! what the hell is going on guys?" Spruce asked as he watched Sam smash a chair against the door.

"I'll tell you what's going on. Every door, every window, I'm guessing every exit out of this house - they're all sealed." Sam said in a pissed off tone.

"But w-why are they sealed?" The Asian girl asked as reality dawned upon her.

"It's a supernatural lockdown, okay? Whatever took Corbett doesn't want us to leave, and it's no death echo. This is a bad mother, and it wants us scared." Dean explained.

"Or it just wants us." Shia mumbled as she looked at the "paranormal watch group" or whatever the hell they called themselves. There was the sound of the EMF detector going off. More camera interference as Harry sidle up to Maggie as they secretly hold hands.

"Uh, guys, the camera's fritzing again." Spruce announced.

"Whoa. Whoa. Guys, the EMF's starting to spike. This is a big one!" Ed said happily. Shia glanced at the two Winchester brothers.

"Everybody, stay close. There's something coming." Sam told everyone.

"No s***, Sam." Shia said as she clinged closer to Dean in case something threaten try to grab them. Another apparition appears.

"Woah!" Everyone said together.

"Is this the same echo you guys saw earlier?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's a different guy."

"Multiple echoes?" Shia asked the boys in confusion.

"What the hell's going on?" Dean asked Shia and Sam.

"Beats me." Sam answered for them both as he shrugged.

"Okay. All right. All right. All right."

Dean started to yell at the apparition. "Uh, hey, buddy! Hey. Hey. Wake up. You're dead! Hello!"

"What's he doing? What's he doing?" Harry asked.

"It's rare, but sometimes you can shock an echo out of its loop if you can talk to the part of the ghost that's still human, but usually you have to have some kind of connection to the deceased." Sam told him.

"Come on! Wake up! Be dead!"

Camera interference; the apparition flickered and turned around.

"You guys hear that?" Shia asked looking around her.

"What's that sound?" Ed asked.

"You guys hear that?" Harry asked.

"I literally just asked that." Shia mumbled beside Sam.

"Snap out of it, buddy, huh? Come on, what are you waiting for? You're gonzo! You're dead!"

Bright light shined on the apparition and the sound of a car horn approached. The apparition flew backwards, as if hit by an invisible vehicle.

"Where the hell did it go?" Harry asked as he clinched harder on his flashlight.

~•~

The group followed Shia, Sam, and Dean down the hallway.

"Dude, there's no records of any of this here. No one got shot here. Obviously, no one got run over by a freaking train."

"Stay close." Shia told the people behind her.

"Did the echoes take Corbett?" Maggie asked.

"Yes. No. I don't know. We don't know what's doing what here; that's what we're trying to figure out, okay?" Dean said, slowly becoming frustrated.

"All right, stay close. Okay, look, um, death echoes are ghosts, okay? Now, ghosts - they usually haunt places where they lived or where they died."

"Except these mooks didn't live or die here."

"Right." Shia said agreeing with the Winchester brothers.

"So, what are they doing here?" Maggie asked.

"Hey, give the lady a cigar." Dean said with a smirk. He smirk fell when he noticed the camera in his face. "All right, seriously, does looking at this nightmare through that camera make you feel better or something? I mean..."

"Um...I, uh..." Maggie said lowering the camera but then she had a thought. "Well, yeah. Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Oh." Dean said as he walked off.

The group continued to walk through house. They enter a room full of stuffed animal heads on the walls, as well as file cabinets.

Sam held up broken framed certificate. "Freeman Daggett, house's last owner, officially commended for 20 years of fine service at the Gamble General Hospital."

"He was a doctor?" Shia asked with a raised eyebrow as she rambled through the dead man'a things.

"Janitor."

"This looks like his den. When'd you say he died - '64?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, heart attack."

"He's giving me a heart attack with these damn deer heads." Shia mumbled as she glanced up again to see more deer heads.

"What are these, c-rations?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, army-issued, three squares - like a lifetime supply."

"God, is that all he ate?"

"One-stop shopping." Shia said.

"Hello, locked." Dean said out loud as he tried to unlock something.

"Oh, come on, guys. This is ridiculous. I mean, how the hell is this supposed to find Corbett, huh? We should be digging up the friggin' floorboards right now."

Sam held up a dusty pamphlet. "Huh. "Survival Under Atomic Attack." An optimist." There was a loud bang as Dean pried the safe open.

Dean and Shia starting leafing through file box. "Crap. Crap. Taxidermy. Okay. You said Daggett was a hospital janitor?"

"Yeah."

"Ewww. Got three toe tags here - one, death by gunshots, train accident, and suicide." Dean said with disgust. Shia frowned, her stomach churning just by thinking about the weird things a man could do to dead bodies.

"Ewwww!" Sam grunted, matching his brother's tone of disgust.

"What?" Harry asked, cluelessly.

"Well, that explains why all the death echoes are here. They're here because their bodies are here...somewhere in the house?"

"Daggett brought the remains home from the morgue." Dean explained further, but they still didn't get it.

"He brought them home to play, guys." Shia said bluntly.

"Ewwwwwwwwww! Ugh!" Harry and Ed groaned.

"That's nasty, dude." Spruce mumbled.

"Right." Sam agreed.

"Wait a minute." Dean said looking up, noticing the presence of another female was missing.

~•~

"Corbett." Maggie whispered as loudly as she could. Maggie startled herself by coming across her own reflection in a mirror.

"Okay, Maggie." She whispered to herself. Camera interference. Maggie spanned the camera around, frightened, to reveal Dean.

"Closer to the herd, okay?" Dean told her.

"Maggie? Maggie?" Harry said loudly.

"She's fine." Dean reassured them.

"Harry. Harry, I got an 8.6 and climbing fast. Something huge is coming. Look. Something big is coming." Camera interference.

"It's past 11, you guys."

"What? Nobody move! Hold on. Hold on. Stay quiet." Dean said as he pulled his wife closer to him. More camera interference, then suddenly Sam, standing next to Dean and Shia, disappeared into thin air.

"It's really cold in here." Ed said.

"Sam?" Dean asked looking around. Shia did the same.

"Samwise?" Shia said calling out Sam's little nickname.

"Some kind of surge." Ed said looking down at his camera.

"Sam?" Dean asked again.

"Where'd he go?" Spruce asked Shia and Dean.

"Oh, no."

Dean found Sam's dropped flashlight and picked it up.

"Sam!" Dean yelled out. He grabbed Shia's hand before walking off into another direction.

~•~

"Sammy!" Dean shouted when he entered another room. Shia could tell by the way Dean moved around urgently that he was worried sick about his brother.

"We'll find him, Dean. I promise." Shia told him as she rubbed his arm. She was about to walk off but Dean grabbed her arm.

"Stay close to me. I don't want to lose you either." Dean told her sternly. Shia nodded, but then she noticed some shuffling noise in the other room.

"What the hell?" Shia said as she walked in the other room to see Harry and Ed fighting. Dean walked over to break it up.

"What the f— are you doing?! Cut it out! We're down by two people. Sam! Sammy!" Dean healed at them before walking off, Shia following behind him.

~•~

Moments later, Shia and Dean thought it would be brilliant to do more searching in the room they were in earlier.

"Corbett! Where'd you guys go?" Harry shouted as he walked the halls.

"Where are you guys?" Maggie asked out loud, but mostly to herself.

"Dean? Shia? What are you doing?" Harry asked as she walked into the room they were in.

"Okay, so Daggett was a cold war nut, okay? He was - he was an amateur taxidermist. He liked to slow dance with cadavers, and all he ate were c-rations, so what the hell are we looking for?!" Dean asked out loud in frustration.

"Horrible little life." Maggie mumbled.

"Yeah, a lonely life." Dean said. "...A cold war life." Shia eyes widen when she realized something.

"He was scared, Dean!" Shia said.

"He was scared?" Dean asked her but then he thought about it. "He was scared." Dean took off running.

"Scared of what? What? Dean, where are you going?" Harry asked as he followed closely behind said. Shia ran after Harry once she pushed off the papers that sat in her lap.

"Wait, don't leave me in here, you guys!" Maggie exclaimed as she ran after them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are you going?"

"Guys like Daggett back then, the ones who were really scared of the Russkies - they built bomb shelters. I'm guessing he's got one. I'll bet you it's in the basement." Dean said as he walked in the basement, Spruce behind him. Door slammed behind Dean, cutting him and Spruce off from Shia, Harry , Ed, and Maggie.

"Dean!" Shia yelled as she banged on the door.

"Babe?!" Dean shouted back.

"Woah! That is not funny!"

"Um, who closed the door?" Spruce asked Dean.

"It did. It wants to separate us."

"Shia! Babe, you see my duffle bag?" Dean asked, talking through the door.

"Yeah!" Shia asked as she looked around.

"What?" Ed asked in confusion.

"There's some salt in my duffle. Make a circle and get inside."

"Okay!" Shia said.

"Inside?" Ed looked at Harry.

"That's stupid." Harry said.

"Inside your duffle bag?" Ed asked Dean.

"In the salt, you idiots!" Shia and Dean said in unison.

"Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah." Ed said as he watched Shia make a circle. She finished quickly.

"Okay, done." Shia said as she stepped in the circle.

"Harry, hurry up. Get in the circle. Get in the circle. Come on. Come on. Quick, quick." Ed said.

"Guys, guys, I don't want to die, okay, and I don't want you to die." Harry told his friends.

"Harry, listen - listen to me, okay? listen. If we don't die... ...it's totally okay if you, uh, do my sister." Shia raised an eyebrow at Ed. He had some serious balls to say that with his sister present. Maggie pushed Ed.

"Ow!"

"Nice." She said sarcastically. Camera interference, once again.

"Hey guys, hey guys, it's coming again."

"Great." Shia said.

"Oh, god. Oh, OK. Guys. Get in close."

"Oh, god."

"Oh god, oh god."

Shia rolled her eyes. "Stop being melodramatic, we're inside the damn circle." Lights continued to flicker, and the group saw Corbett standing in front of them, bloody, unable to speak.

"Oh. Oh, c-Corbett." Ed said sadly, but you can the fear that laid in his tone.

"Damn." Shia said with a sigh. She looked down and then back up at Corbett. "Sorry you had to go out this way, kid."

It's been at least ten minutes. Shia, Ed, Harry, and Maggie are still in the salt ring.

"Oh god, what have we done? Oh god." Ed said to himself.

"Ed. Ed."

"Yeah?"

"Corbett's a - he's a death echo. He's reliving his own murder." Harry said sadly.

"Over and over forever." Maggie said as she looked down to her feet.

"Not if we can break the curse." Shia told them as she stepped outside the circle.

"What are you doing?!" Harry asked.

"Guys, you know him! He's harmless, right?" Shia asked. She sighed. "We have to help him."

"She's right! Guys, it's - it's Corbett. He's - he's - he's trapped. He's in a lot of pain, you know? We got to try and... we got to try and pull him out of his loop. We have to." Shia rolled her eyes. Didn't she just basically said that? Ed stood up and faced Corbett.

"Ed?" Harry asked.

"Corbett. Corbett, it's - Oh, god."

"Don't cross the line of salt." Harry told him.

"Shut up, Harry. Ed, stop being a p––—!" Shia whispered in frustration. Ed hesitated, then stepped over the salt line, confronting the ghost of Corbett. The ghost started to flicker and Ed retreated back into the circle.

Shia looked the them, shocked. They got scared of a flickering ghost, a harmless ghost. "My daughter doesn't scare that easy and she's a baby."

Suddenly, the ghost reappeared.

"I...I know how we can get through to him." Harry said as looked from Corbett to Ed.

"How?"

"Ed... He had feelings for you." Harry told him. Shia shifted on her feet, trying hard to hide her smirk.

"Huh?" Ed asked, he was confused.

"He wanted you."

"Wa- wanted me to what?" Ed stuttered. Shia snorted but covered it with a cough.

"You know." Harry demonstrated with a slight grunt and pelvic thrust. "And you know what you've got to do. You can do it, Ed. You've always been the brave one. Yes, you can. You make us brave - Maggie, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah you do. You totally do." Maggie said.

"Ed...You got to go be gay for that poor, dead intern. You got to send him into the light." Harry said as he pointed at Corbett. It was one of the most epic thing Shia has ever heard. Ed approached the ghost of Corbett again.

"Corbett." Ed said. Maggie stepped outside the circle.

"Maggie, no. no." Harry said as he grabbed her arm.

"It's okay." Maggie told him.

"Corbett, look. Hey, it's just Ed, buddy. It's just me. Hey, hey, Corbett, listen to me. Listen to me. I - we... Okay. You meant... Corbett, you meant a lot to the team. You meant... You meant a lot to me. You know, never back down...Never say a bad word, okay? I remember that, Corbett. I-I remember that. I remember because I love you, Corbett. I really, truly love you. Do you remember that? do you?" Ed said.

"Hey. Ed?" Corbett said as he looked to Ed, coming out of his trance.

"Yeah. Yeah, Corbett, it's... Corbett, yeah, it's me. It's me. look at me. You got to help us, man. you have to help us, Corbett. Please. please. Please help us right now." Corbett nodded and then disappeared.

Shia smiled widely. "That was beautiful, Ed."

"I'm straight, just letting you know." Ed informed Shia.

"I'm married." Shia told him as she walked past him. "To Dean. Just letting you know."

As if on cue, the basement door busted open with Dean, Sam, and Spruce coming out of it. Shia sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank God!" Shia said as she hugged the brothers tightly. She pressed a kiss to Sam's cheek and Dean's lips. "I'm so glad you guys are okay!"

~•~

The door to the Morton House opens, and Ed, Shia, Sam, Dean, Harry and Maggie exit. Harry and Maggie pause to hug, while Sam gave Ed his phone number on a scrap of paper.

"Full Moon, March 12th, the Morton House. A tragic day. A day of souls bound in torment, of lives held in cruel balance. But the Ghostfacers, they did the best that they could." Ed's voice over said.

"We lost a beloved friend, but we gained new allies."

The two men, Harry & Ed, sat in seats in a living room.

"We know this much: that every day, including today, is a new beginning. We learned more than we can say in the brutal feat of the Morton House." Ed said to the camera.

"The Ghostfacers were forced to face something far more scary than ghosts. They were forced to face themselves."

"War changes Man." Ed said as he lifted his thumb towards the camera.

"And Maggie. And that hot chick, Shannon?"

"Shia." Ed quickly corrected him. "War changes man...and women... You know Corbett, we just... ah gosh, we just like to think that you're out there, watching over us."

"As far as we're concerned, you're not an intern anymore. You have more than earned full Ghostfacer status. Plus, it would be cool to have a ghost on the team."

"Yeah. Heh heh. And here we were thinking that, you know, we were teaching you and all this time you were teaching us, about heart, about dedication, and about how gay love can pierce through the veil of death and save the day. Thank you, Alan J. Corbett." Ed said with a small smile.

"Go well into that starry night, young Turk. Go well."

The video of Corbett and Spruce talking in the back of the van started playing.

"Come on, Spruce, I gotta get all this stuff packed up!" Corbett said as he gathered some equipment.

"So, pack and talk!" Spruce told him.

"I don't know what to say."

"Say what comes to mind. This is one of our confessional moments, Corbett, so confess. What did you think was going to happen tonight? What do you think is going to happen on this trip?"

"I think tonight, I really do, I think all of our dreams are going to come true. Does that sound stupid?" Corbett as he looked up at Spruce.

"Kind of does, yeah." The two men started laughing.

In Memory of Alan J. Corbett, 1985-2008 King of the Impossible.

~•~

Shia, Sam, and Dean sat there watching the show the 'Ghostfacers' crew put together.

"So, guys, what do you think? Are you alright?" Ed asked.

"My hair really look like that?" Shia asked before touching her hair. She frowned.

"You know, I kind of think it was half-awesome." Dean said with a slight nod.

"Half-awesome? That - that's full-on good, right?" Maggie said with excitement.

"Yeah, um, I mean it's bizarre how you all are able to honor Corbett's memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death. Well done." Sam said, but Shia heard the hint of sarcasm. Dean secretly slipped something into a backpack under the table.

"Yeah. It's a real tight rope you guys are walking there."

"Yeah, all right guys." Sam said as he got up from his seat.

"Nah, that's reality, man. Yeah, Corbett gave his life searching for the truth, and it's our job over here to share it with the world." Ed told him.

"Right. Well, um, our experience, you know what you get when you show the world the truth?" Sam asked Ed.

"A straightjacket. Or a punch in the face." Dean answered for him.

"Sometimes both." Shia said.

"Right." Sam said agreeing with Shia.

"Oh come on, guys, don't be 'facer haters just because we happen to have gotten the footage of the century."

"Oh yeah."

Dean looked at Shia and Sam. "You got us there."

"Yeah." Sam agreed sarcastically.

"Yeah, well we'll see you guys around." Dean said as he wrapped arm around Shia's waist, leading her out.

"Peace out." Spruce told them.

Sam, Shia, and Dean leave; Ed shut the door behind them.

"We clean?" Sam asked Dean.

"Nooooooo! Are you kidding me?!" The trio heard Ed scream.

"Electromagnet wiped out every tape and hard drive that they have." Dean said as they got into the car.

"The world just isn't ready for the Ghostfacers." Sam said.

"It's too bad. I kinda liked the show."

"It had its moments." Sam said as he nodded his head slightly.

"My hair always look that messy?" Shia asked the boys. Dean looked at Sam, silently asking him not to answer that. Sam took the hint. "Guys? Don't pretend like you can't hear me. Guys?!"

~March 14, 2008 (approximately 6:15 p.m.) Bobby's House~

The trio opened the door to see Michelle washing the dishes. Dean placed a piece of pie on the coffee table as he watches Lynx play with her toys. Sam and Shia walked into the living room after him. A smile come upon their lips.

The baby noticed her parents and smiled, she did this goofy thing where she smiles and makes a weird noise that sounds like "Aheeee." The baby got up, standing on her feet. Sam, Shia, and Dean stared at the child.

"Michelle, you're gonna want to see this!" Shia said excitingly to her sister, who was in the kitchen. She quickly came in and saw that Lynx was standing up and staring at her parents.

"Oh my.." Shia said as the baby took her first steps. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"That's it, chunky monkey. You can do it." Dean said as Lynx walked towards them. They didn't expect her to walk pass them. She walked over to the pie on the coffee table, opening the top and smashing her hand in the pie and placing it in her mouth. The adults in the room laughed. "That's my chunky monkey!"

Dean walked over to the baby and picked her up.

"Aheee." Lynx made the sound as she smiled and put some pie on Dean's mouth.

"That's some good pie, baby." Dean told her. Shia walked over.

"I want some pie." Shia told the baby. Shia picked up the plate, Lynx put her hand in it again and threw some in her momma's mouth.

"Yummy! Thank you!"

"Don't forget about me!" Sam said walking over to the baby. Lynx got happy to see her uncle, she leaned over to get in his arms, putting some pie in his mouth. "That's some good pie." Michelle laughed at the messy baby. Michelle was close enough for Lynx to lean over and place some pie in her mouth.

"Aheee!" Lynx giggled.

Shia felt like nothing in the world could make her happier than to see Lynx play around with her family. Dean wrapped his arms around Shia's waist.

"She's growing up on us. Took her first steps."

"I know, Dean. Soon she's going to have a boyfriend." She said with a smirk.

"Not until she's 45." Dean said before kissing Shia's neck, making her laugh.

~•~•~ (A/N)

I'm so sorry for my absence! I've been busy with other things. And stressed out because I'm starting college soon and I'm so nervous! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! I can't believe Lynx took her first steps. She's growing up fast!

There is one last chapter and this book will be over! Don't worry, I'll post Vol. 2 (seasons 4-6) as soon as I can! Love you guys!


	44. No Rest For The Wicked (3x16)

"Good feeling

Won't you stay with me just a little longer

It always seems like your leaving

When I need you here just a little longer

Dear lady there's so many things

That I have come to fear

Little voice says I'm going crazy

To see all my worlds disappear

Vague sketch of a fantasy

Laughing at the sunrise

Like he's been up all night

Ooh slippin' and slidin'

What a good time but now

Have have to find a bed

That can take this wait." – Violet Femmes

~•~•~•~•~•~

No Rest For The Wicked (3x16)

~April 6, 1997~

Shia was at her high school prom, her date ditched her for the head cheerleader who looked "lonely."

"Every guy grab a girl. Let's think about that good feeling." The DJ said before playing the track "Good Feeling" by Violet Femmes.

Shia sat there thinking that her date would actually walk over to her and ask her to dance, but of course, that didn't happen. Shia sighed as she played with her fingers.

"You come here often?" A familiar voice said from behind her. Shia immediately recognized the lame pick up line. She turned around to see Dean Winchester dressed in a suit and tie. Shia couldn't believe her eyes, the guy cleaned up nice.

"What are you doing here?" Shia asked coolly, she was trying her best not to sound excited.

"I-l was invited a few months back..."

Shia invited Dean to her prom as her date a few months ago but she didn't hear from him.

"It's a shame. I already have a date."

"Doesn't look like it." Dean said with a small smirk. Shia shifted on her feet. She looked from Dean to her date, who was having fun without her. Her brown orbs landed on Dean once more. Giving in to his offer, she sighed.

"Okay. I'll dance with you." Shia told him. Dean grabbed her hand and guided her to the dance floor. His hand then grabbed her waist. He pulled her close. Shia felt her breathing become uneasy as she was pulled into Dean's embrace. The duo swayed back and forth to the punk folk music.

"Thank you...for coming." Shia whispered to the oldest Winchester brother.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Dean told her. "You look beautiful by the way."

"Thanks, Dean. I say you look pretty damn good yourself." Shia said with a grin before lifting her head off his chest. His eyes were on hers. Dean's eyes flicked from her lips to her eyes.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Do me a favor," she whispered, looking into his green eyes. "don't hurt me."

"I would never do that." Dean said before leaning down to press his lips against hers.

Good feeling. Won't you stay with me just a little longer. It always seems like your leaving when I need you here just a little longer.

~May 2nd, 2008 (Bobby's House)~

32 HOURS TO GO...

Shia watched her small child sleep while she thought about the final hours she had left with Dean. Her ached for not only Dean but for Sam, her daughter, and people who cared for Dean. Shia pushed off her feelings for so long. She was scared as to what was going to happen to Dean in hell. She knew deep down that there was no saving Dean, so in a way...she made peace with his death.

Shia slowly made her way out of Lynx's room and to the next room.

"So if we do save you... Let's never do that." Shia heard the younger Winchester say as he snickered.

"Yeah..." Dean said.

"Do what?" Shia asked as she entered the room the brothers were in. Dean looked at Sam and shook his head.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hmm." Shia hummed as she walked over to grab some books and started searching for ways to "save" Dean. Dean looked down at the books as Sam sat down next to him.

"Hey, Dean." Sam said with a sigh. "Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done. I don't care what it takes, Dean. You're not gonna go to hell. I'm not gonna let you." Dean looked over to his brother. "I swear. Everything's gonna be okay." Dean's hallucinations were starting but he didn't want to alarm his brother or wife.

"Yeah, okay," was Dean's reply.

~••~

Bobby opened a map of the United States, placed an old tracking device over it. The ball had a flat, metal piece going around it with symbols on it. Further down the legs there's another metal piece, only bigger. From the ball hanged pendulum device that was sharp on the end so that it can pinpoint a specific place.

"So you need a name, that's the whole kit and caboodle. With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out." Bobby told the three adults in the room.

"Like the town Lilith's in?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Kid, when I get done, we'll know the street." Bobby said confidently. Shia smirks as she shook her head. Dean stood beside his wife, his hand held her waist. These last few hours will be the only hours that he'll ever have to express his love for her.

Bobby began the ritual, started the swing for the pendulum and then chanted in Latin. As Dean, Shia, and Sam watch, the pendulum began to search over the map until it suddenly stopped.

"New Harmony, Indiana." Bobby told them. Dean looked up at him from the map. "And we have a winner."

"Alright." Sam said as he pushed the pendulum away and looked at Bobby. "Let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Let's all shut up there, Tex." Dean said.

"What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? Come on, where do I begin? I mean, first of all, we don't even know if Lilith holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel? Now when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked. Okay. Second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head on a pike? Should I continue?" Dean explained to his brother. Shia shifted on her feet, taking in what Dean just said.

"Dean has a point." Shia said as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Ain't you just bringing down the room." Bobby commented.

"Yeah, well, it's a gift." Dean retorted.

"I'm sorry, so then what are we supposed to do, Dean?" Sam asked his brother.

"Just 'cause I gotta die doesn't mean you have to, okay. Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Okay, fine. If that's the case I have the answer."

"You do?" Shia and Dean asked in unison, their eyebrows raised. Shia had an unease feeling in her stomach, somehow she knew that this was not going to end well.

"Yeah. A sure-fire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu."

Anger appeared on Dean's face. "Damn it, Sam, no," he said.

"We're so passed arguing. Dean, I am summoning Ruby."

"The hell you are! We have enough problems as it is."

"Exactly. And we've got no time and no choice either."

"Come on, man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay. She told you that she could save me, huh, lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith but forgot to mention, oh right - Lilith owns my soul!"

"Okay, fine. She's a liar. She's still got that knife."

"Dean," Bobby said.

"For all we know, she works for Lilith," Dean continued, ignoring Bobby.

"Then give me another option, Dean," Sam countered. "I mean, tell me what else."

"Sam's right," Bobby told him.

"No! Damn it," Dean exclaimed, catching them all of guard. He took a deep breath. "Just no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again. You guys wanna save me, find something else."

Shia sighed as she watched Dean walk back over to the table and sit down. Bobby grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going, Bobby," Sam asked.

"I guess to find something else," Bobby answered before walking out of the house.

Sam turned to Shia and she shook her head. "I'm staying out of this," she said softly. She shot him an apologetic look, then walked upstairs to her daughter's room.

~••~

Michelle, Shia's half-sister, was sitting in Lynx's room. Making sure the child was sleeping well. Michelle's heart ached for Shia. She couldn't imagine how she must feel. Her husband is going to hell, literally. And big time demons are after her baby.

There was a stir and whimper coming from the crib a few feet away from where Michelle stood. Walking over to the crib, Michelle noticed a very much awake Lynx staring up at her.

Michelle smiled at her niece. "You took a nap, huh?"

Lynx stood up on her feet, her small hands placed on the crib handles. Lynx wheezed at her aunt, not really knowing how to say the words she wanted to say. The baby wanted to get out of her crib.

"Someone's awake." Shia said, entering the room with a sippy cup full of milk. Lynx squealed, seeing her mom was now in the room. Michelle looked at the baby with awe, very happy to see the relationship Shia has with her child.

"Um, I'm going to go to my room. Look through some more books." Michelle told Shia. Shia gave her sister a small smile, before nodding.

Shia walked over to Lynx, picking her up. The baby rested on Shia's waist, holding on to her shirt, pulling it down slightly. "Hi, bugga! You have a good nap? I know you did."

"Can't believe she's about to be a year old." Dean said, leaning against the doorway. He loved watching his wife and daughter interact with each other.

"Yeah, in just a few days." Shia said, turning to Dean. As soon as Lynx took in Dean's presence, she started squealing and jumping on Shia's waist. Dean and Shia chuckled as he grabbed his daughter from Shia's arms.

"Always happy to see daddy, huh?" Dean asked Lynx as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, gripping on his short hair. Shia gave Lynx her sippy cup, which she took happily. Lynx faced her mom's direction, laying her head on Dean's shoulder.

"She barely took a nap." Shia told Dean, while she played in Lynx's hair.

"Lynx, you need to start sleeping longer." Dean playfully scolded the baby. She smiled at him, her face went red. Feeling a little shy under her parent's gaze, the baby hid her face in Dean's neck.

"Such a daddy's girl. I'm jealous." Shia said with a grin.

"Yeah, she's a daddy's girl. Lynx, say "daddy". Come on, say it." Dean encouraged his child as he blew raspberries in her neck, making her go into a fit of laughter.

"Micheal said that she'll say her first words when she's ready." Shia reminded her husband. They have both been working on word development with their soon to be year old. Concerned with her lack of vocabulary, they went to seek advice from Shia's brother, Micheal, who told them there was nothing wrong with the baby...she'll talk when she's ready.

"I know, I just want to hear something before..." Dean began to say, referring to his deal coming to an end. Shia sighed, her gaze locked on Dean. For a moment, she forgot about everything. Somehow, Dean always make sure she's brought back to reality.

"Yeah, I know." Shia replied. Lynx decided she didn't want her cup so she threw it on the floor before she started crying. "Dean, take her downstairs and get her something to eat."

Dean nodded, walking away with a very fussy Lynx. Shia watched them go. As she picked up the sippy cup, Shia couldn't help but let out a silent sob.

~•~

~May 3rd, 2008 (BOBBY'S HOUSE)~

6 HOURS TO GO...

Shia leaned against the doorway to the makeshift dining room with Lynx on her hip; playing with one of her toys, not paying too much attention to the adults in the room. Weapons were spread out on the table. Sam and Dean were silently loading weapons, while their backs were towards Shia. She had heard the fight with Ruby earlier as she looked through the many books on the table with Michelle while Lynx slept in her lap.

Sam sighed. "We're just gonna let Ruby rot down there," he asked.

Dean doesn't look up from his gun. "That's the idea. Don't want her roaming around while Lynx is here."

"Dean, what if, uh, what if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?" Dean looked up at him. Shia didn't need to see his face to know that he was angry. "Quit looking at me like that."

"What? Are you gonna give her the Carrie stare and Lilith goes poof?"

"I don't know what Ruby meant. You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"Sam, you wanted the knife. I got you the knife," Dean argued.

"Dean, just listen to me for a second. Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Well, this ain't smart."

"We got one shot at this, Dean. Just one. So, if there's a surefire way then maybe we should just talk about it."

"Sam. We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again."

"You said that but what does it even mean?"

"Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is - is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going."

Dean walked around the table. He saw Shia leaning against the doorway with Lynx, silently watching them. Lynx changed her position on her mom, she was now wrapped her mom's abdomen with her head on Shia's shoulders, playing with her mommy's necklace.

"Dean," Sam said, causing him to look away from his girls. "What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it. And if it'll save you..."

"Why even risk it?"

Sam glanced at the table, then looked up. "Because you're my brother. Because you did the same thing for me."

"I know...and look how that turned out." Sam looked away from him.

"All I'm saying...Sammy, all I'm saying is that you and Shia are my weak spots when it comes to hunting." Sam looked at him, stunned. Shia wasn't shock to hear about Dean's weak spots, it was obvious. "You are. And we're yours."

"You don't mean that," Sam argued. His voice laced with emotion. "We're...we're family."

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what? We just stop looking out for each other?"

"No, we stop being martyrs, man. We - we - we stop spreading it for these demons." Dean picked up the knife he had stolen from Ruby. "We take this knife and we go after Lilith our way. The way Dad taught us to. And if we go down, then, uh, then we go down swinging." Sam just stared at him. "What do you think?"

Sam glanced at the floor. "I think you totally should have been jamming Eye of the Tiger right there."

"Oh, bite me. I totally rehearsed that speech too."

Sam smiled. "So, Indiana huh?"

"Yeah, where Lilith's on shore leave."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Tell me something. The hell's a demon do for fun?"

"Well, I'm guessing it's not a trip to the Bahamas," Shia said, pushing away from the doorway, switching Lynx on her hip again. Sam looked at her, shocked that he hadn't noticed her before. "So, what's the game plan?"

Sam glanced at Dean, then back at her. "Look, Shia, maybe you should..." He trailed off at the glare she sent him. Sam turned to Dean. "So, what's the game plan?"

"We pack up and hit the road," Dean answered.

"Okay." Shia turned and started out of the room. She paused and looked back at them. "Don't think about leaving without me. I'll be on both of your asses."

Dean watched as she left the room. He glanced at Sam, then continued packing up the weapons. "Take care of her. Take care of both of them, Sam."

Sam nodded, not wanting to start another argument about how he'll see his baby again. "Of course. You already know I will."

~•~

Shia was giving Lynx's baby bag to Michelle. She was making them head to Julius' apartment for a couple of days. Mainly because she didn't want Lynx and Michelle alone in a house with a demon.

Lynx was standing up, playing with her toys on the coffee table when Shia walked over and gave her a kiss.

"Mommy is going to miss you. We'll be back soon. Okay, bugga?" Shia said to her toddler who wasn't paying her too much attention. "You and Aunt Michelle are going to visit Uncle Julius for a couple of days."

Lynx looked at her mommy for a moment, then went back to playing with her toys. Shia smiled softly at the little girl before walking over to the men in her life. They were standing in the doorway, waiting for Shia to say bye to Lynx.

"Okay, let's go." Shia asked, walking past the men. Everyone started to walk off. Michelle was about to pick up Lynx before Dean stopped her.

"Wait." Dean said walking over to his child. He got on one knee to level with the toddler, he ran his fingers through her soft dirty blonde, curly hair. "Hey, chunky monkey."

Lynx's big hazel eyes were locked on Dean, but her attention wasn't kept long, she turned back to one of her toys putting in her mouth.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that daddy loves you so much." Everyone heard the crack in Dean's voice towards the end of his sentence. It's been said that the love Dean has for his daughter is unexplainable. "You're going to grow up to be an amazing little lady. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and your mom. I've done a lot of things that I regret but you...I don't regret you, not for one second. And I never will. Daddy has to go but I want you to know...there will never be a time that I'll stop loving you."

Dean blinked away the loose tears in his eyes before giving his daughter a kiss on her small lips, then a kiss on her forehead. He stood up, giving Lynx look before walking off.

Lynx looked at father walk away. She grabbed her favourite block, which just so happen to have the letter "D" on it. Lynx wobbled quickly behind the adults but she felt like she was loosing them because they were so much faster than her. So she did something that no one expected.

"Dada!" Lynx said loudly, which came off as a small scream. All the adults froze. Dean and Shia turned around to see their baby follow behind them. "Dada!"

They weren't dreaming, she said her first words. She called out for her daddy, just like Dean wanted.

"Dada!" Dean got on his knees, pulling his toddler into a tight hug. Her small arms wrapped around his neck, her free hand ruffling through his hair. Lynx pulled away from Dean, giving him her favorite block before walking back over to Michelle.

Dean was on his feet again, smiling proudly to himself. Dean looked at Shia with a grin to which she returned.

Then their faces turned serious again, they had business to tend to. So, they left.

~•~

Dean glanced in the backseat to see Shia still asleep. He chuckled to himself softly. He was always amazed at how much she could sleep through, like him and Sam singing along to Bon Jovi.

A siren went off and Sam looked at Dean, confused. "We getting pulled over."

Dean glanced in the side mirror. "I've got a busted tail light. It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing."

Dean pulled the Impala over and the police car stopped behind them. Sam grabbed a fake license and registration from the glove compartment as Dean rolled down the window. A police officer walked up and shined the flashlight in the car. "Problem officer," Dean asked, not looking at the officer.

Shia then slowly opened her eyes, she then noticed that they were stopped by a cop. But something in the pit of her stomach did not feel right.

"License and registration, please," the officer replies. Dean handed over the papers. "Do you realize you have a tail light out, Mr. Hagard?"

Dean looked at him and stares for a moment. "Yes...yes, sir. Uh, you know I've been meaning to take care of that. As a matter of fact..." He shoved the door open, hitting the officer in the stomach.

"Dean," Sam shouted, climbing out of the Impala.

Shia followed Sam in suit. She was confused as to why Dean was taking down a cop but she thought that Dean had a good reason. At least, she hoped so.

Dean punched the officer a few times, before pulling out the demon killing knife. Sam ran around the Impala. Dean shoved the knife in the officer's throat.

They watch as the officer flashed orange before falling to the ground. Bobby pulled up behind them and climbed out of his car. "What the hell happened," he questioned, looking between the body on the ground and Winchesters.

"Dean just killed a demon," Sam answered, stunned. He turned to Dean. "How'd you know?"

Dean was panting and staring at the body. He looked up, worried. "I just knew. I could see it's face. It's real face under that one."

Shia's eyes went wide. Her and Bobby shared a look. They both knew what it meant.

~••~

Shia practiced her hand motion for her use of power as she watched the guys covered the police car with branches.

"So what, now you're seeing demons," Sam asked, dropping a branch on the car.

Dean rubbed his face. "I've seen all kinds of things lately but...nothing like this."

"It's not too weird, you know," Shia comments, shoving her hands in her jeans back pockets. The boys looked at her.

"How's it not weird, babe," Dean asked.

"You've got like five hours left, Dean. So...you're moments away from getting deployed." Shia tried to explain, by wanting to freak Dean out too much.

"So, what are you saying?" Dean asked, his voice hinting a lace of annoyance.

Shia rolled her eyes. "You're about to be one of Hell's bitches, Dean. So, you can see all of Hell's other bitches."

A surprised look appeared on Dean's face. "Thank you," he mocked. "That's helping my nerves to calm down."

"Well, actually it could come in pretty handy," Sam said.

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something."

"Damn right," Bobby replied. "Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we've started."

"Well, this is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be apart of it. Can we go, please?" Dean said sassily. Dean walked away. Bobby sighed and followed him.

Sam walked beside Shia as they headed back towards the Impala. "How'd you know that," he quietly asked.

"My dad is Bobby Singer, little offended you expected me not to know," Shia said with a hint of humor. It was always Shia to try to get through pain and hard times with humor, it was her way of dealing with things. She stopped for a moment, making Sam turn to her. "No matter what happens, Sam, we'll be fine. I promise." Shia shot him a soft smile as they continued their path to the cars.

~••~

Shia sighed and leaned against Dean as she stared at the house across the street.

She had looked through the binoculars to see a family celebrating a little girl's birthday. Except that the little girl had a dead body laying on a birthday cake sitting at the table and the girl's parents were terrified.

"Soooo fucked up." Shia whispered, mostly to herself but everyone heard her. They agreed with her.

"It's the little girl. Her face is awful," Dean commented.

"Alright then, let's go. We're wasting time," Sam replied. He turned and started to make his way downstairs, but Dean grabbed his arm.

"Wait!"

"For what? For it to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah and us too if we're not careful. Look." Dean pointed the mailman slowly putting mail in a mailbox. "See the real go getter mailman on the clock at nine pm?"

Dean pointed to a different man, this one sitting on a porch smoking a pipe. "And Mr. Rogers over there."

"Demons?" Bobby asked.

"Yes." Dean said with a slight nod.

"So, we just sneak past them," Shia suggested, pulling her hair in a ponytail. And adjusting the tape she put over her knuckles to prevent bruising if she ended up doing some hand combat.

"Then what? Give a columbian necktie to a ten year old girl? Come on!"

Shia let out heavy breath. "Look, Dean, babe, we know it's horrible."

"You think?"

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean," Sam continued for Shia. "This is about saving everybody."

Bobby nodded in agreement. "She's gotta be stopped, son."

Dean glanced out the window, then he sighed. "Damn it."

~••~

Their plan was distracting a few of the demons and killing them behind the houses. Dean would make a noise and the demon would follow him to where Sam was waiting. Sam would grab the demon and Shia would stab the demon with the knife.

As Shia and Sam made their way through the woods to the next house, they see Dean get slammed into a fence. They quickly run over to him and see that it's Ruby. "I'd like my knife back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone," she coldly said.

Shia tightened her grip on the knife and walked up behind her. "Well, he doesn't exactly have the knife on him at the moment," she replied, placing the knife on Ruby's throat. "Get the fuck off my husband."

Ruby backed away from Dean and Shia moved to stand by Sam.

"How the hell did you get out," Dean asked.

"What you don't know about me could fill a book," Ruby replied.

Dean's gaze suddenly widened.

"Whoa."

"What?"

Dean looked away, but glanced at the demon then quickly looked away again. "Nothing. I just...I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad."

Ruby stepped towards Shia, ignoring Dean. "Give me the knife before you hurt yourself, demi bitch," the demon demanded.

"You'll get it when this over," Sam answered for Shia. Shia glanced at Sam before making her way over to Dean, only to make sure he was okay.

"It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. And I'm not gonna let you die too."

"Yeah, well, if you try to stop us, bitch, I'll kill you," Shia snapped. "Something I've been wanting to do for a while."

Ruby glared at her. "Hit me with your best shot, baby. I will drag your ass."

"Please, bitch, I will dog walk your ass. No hesitation—" Shia started.

"Girls, girls! Hey. Have your little cat fight later," Dean interrupted, motioning to the group of demons watching.

"Oh shit." Shia muttered.

"So much for the element of surprise."

"Go, go! Run! Run," Sam said, pushing Ruby forward. The four of them took off running towards the house that Lilith was staying in.

Shia didn't look back to see the group of demons chasing them. Sam reached the house first and kneeled down to pick the lock.

"What the hell is taking Bobby," Dean asked as he and Shia joined Sam and Ruby on the porch.

"Sam, move your ass," Shia said, watching the demons getting closer.

"I'm trying," Sam replied. Suddenly the sprinklers turned on. A couple of demons on the lawn screamed as the holy water hit them. Sam got the door open and entered the house with Shia and Ruby. Dean stood there a second, laughing at the demons on the other side of the lawn.

Shia rolled her eyes. "You think making fun of them is a good idea? Come on." She turned and jumped at seeing the dead body in the hallway. "Fuck."

Sam grabbed the demon killing knife out of Shia's hand. Dean closed the door and turned to see the body. "You think Lilith knows we're here," he questioned.

"Probably," Ruby answered. Sam took the lead as they walked through the house.

A door creaked behind Dean and he turned to see a man middle aged man. He quickly grabbed the man and covered his mouth as Sam, Shia, and Ruby turn to them.

"We're here to help. Okay," Dean whispered. "I'm gonna move my hand and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?"

The man nodded and Dean removed his hand. "Sir, where is your daughter," Sam asked.

"It's not...it's not her anymore," the man replied.

"Where is she?"

"Upstairs. In her bedroom."

"Okay, okay, okay. Listen to me," Dean said. "I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?"

"Not without my wife."

"Yes, without your wife." Shia said to the man, giving him a stern look.

"No."

Dean quickly punched the man and he fell unconscious. Dean picked him up and tossed him on his shoulder. He looked at the other three, then walked out of the living room. Shia walked towards Dean to follow him but he nodded for her to follow Sam and Ruby.

Silently, Sam, Shia and Ruby made their way upstairs. There were two rooms at the top of the stairs. Ruby took the one on the right while Sam and Shia entered the one on the left.

The room was light pink with a canopy bed in the middle. Toys were scattered along the floor.

Shia stood back as Sam made his way towards the bed. He pulled back the curtain to reveal a middle aged woman with a blonde girl wearing a pink dress. The girl was asleep. The woman looked at Sam.

"Do it," she whispered. "Do it." Sam raised the knife and the girl moved, slowly starting to wake up. "Do it. Do it!"

The girl opened her eyes and screamed. Shia was confused as to why the demon didn't try to escape the child's body before Sam killed her.

Sam lunged but someone grabbed his arm. He looked to see Dean.

"It's not her! It's not in the girl anymore," he said. Sam looked unsure for a moment.

"He can tell. Remember, Sam?" Shia reminded the vengeance seeking Winchester.

The small group made their way downstairs, helping the girl and woman walk on their feet. Shia felt bad for them, seeing how they were still spooked.

"Alright, no matter what you hear, you, your husband, and your daughter stay in the basement," Dean explained to the woman, leading them to the basement.

Shia sighed and glanced at a clock. It was nearing midnight. "Well, I hate to be a 'told you so,'" Ruby commented.

Shia clinched her fists before turning to the demon. "Then tell us where she went."

"I don't know."

"Good for nothing, bitch," Shia mumbled to herself.

"So, maybe she got past the sprinklers." Sam commented.

Ruby scoffed as they entered the living room. "Her pay grade, she ain't sweating the holy water."

"Okay. You win," Sam said causing Shia to look at him. "What do I have to do?"

"What do you mean," Ruby asked.

"To save Dean. What do you need me to do?"

Dean grabbed his shoulder forcing Sam to look at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sam pulled himself out of Dean's grip. "Just shut up for a second. Ruby!"

"You had your chance. You can't just flip a switch. We needed time," Ruby replied.

"Well, there's gotta be something. There's gotta be some way, whatever it is, I'll do it." Dean moved to grab him but Sam pushed him away. "Don't, Dean! I'm not gonna let you go to Hell, Dean!"

"Yes, you are," Dean exclaimed. Sam stared at him. Shia looked at the ground, blinking back the tears. Her heart beginning to ache. "Yes, you are. I'm sorry. I mean, this is all my fault. I know that. But what you're doing, it's not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you."

Sam looked away for a moment, then turned back to his brother with tears in his eyes. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels. Take care of my girls. Make sure Shia doesn't get herself killed since she has Lynx to raise. Sam, remember what Dad taught you...okay?" Sam nodded. "And remember what I taught you."

Dean looked over at Shia. She avoided his gaze. Dean didn't want this part to happen. Saying goodbye to his wife hurt a little more than saying goodbye to Sam.

"I know you've been avoiding me because you hate goodbyes." Dean said, placing his on Shia's cheek. Brushing away her tears with his thumb. "But I want you to know that I love you. I love you so fucking much. I'll never stop loving you. Take care of Lynx. Watch out for Sammy. Okay?"

Shia nodded reluctantly before pulling her husband in for one last kiss.

A ringing caused them to pull apart and see the grandfather clock in the corner. It was midnight.

Shia sobbed, knowing what was coming next. Sam allowed his tears to flow freely. Dean forced a smile, trying to hold back his own tears.

He turned to Shia, kissing her once more...for the last time.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Ruby quietly said. "I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy."

Shia watched as Dean's face became emotionless. He stared at the front door. "Hellhound," he said.

"Where," Shia softly questioned. Dean motioned at the door. "There." Dean stood there for a moment, then ran out of the room with the others behind him.

They entered a small dinning room, Shia slammed the doors shut after Ruby entered the room. The hunters and demon held the banging doors shut as Dean poured some goofer dust on the ground.

Shia let out a relived breath and moved herself from the doors. Her readings about hell hounds in the back of her mind.

"Give me the knife," Ruby said. "Maybe I can fight it off."

Shia looked at her confused, eyeing her with suspicion. "What?"

"Come on! That dust won't last forever."

Dean turned and looked between Sam, Shia, and Ruby. Sam took out the knife and started to hand it to Ruby.

"Wait," Dean shouted.

"You wanna die," Ruby asked him.

"Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!" Shia stepped back, her suspicion was true. The demon in front of her was not Ruby.

Sam was flung into the wall being held up by invisible bonds. He dropped the knife in the process.

Shia's eyes went to her power color, using her force to attempt to harm Lilith. Lilith mocked Shia's ability by coughing, laughing at Shia's attempt.

"Oh honey, I've been training to kill you..." Lilith then flung the demi god into the wall, a spot right beside Sam. Shia struggled against the demon's force as Lilith forced Dean onto a table.

"How long you been in her?"

The entire facial expression on the demon changed. "Not long," Lilith replied, examining the body she was in. "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty."

Shia noticed at the demon's eyes. Instead of the normal black, they were white. "Where's Ruby," Shia asked.

"She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away."

"You know, I should have seen it before," Dean taunted. "But you all look alike to me."

Lilith glanced at him before moving to Sam. "Hello, Sam. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She grabbed his chin and forcefully kissed him. "Your lips are soft."

Sam tried jerking his head away, but it was no use. "Right, so you have me. Let my brother go."

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't."

"So, this is your big plan, huh? Drag me to Hell. Kill Sam and Shia. And then what? Become queen bitch," Dean coldly questioned.

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," Lilith snapped. They silently watch as Lilith moved over to the door. She grabbed the handle and opened the door. "Sick 'em, boys!"

Shia watched in horror as the invisible hellhound dragged Dean off the table. He let out a strangled scream.

"Stop it," Shia screamed. Tears were streaming down her face. "Make it stop! Fuck you! Stop it!"

The hellhound ripped into Dean's chest and legs. "Stop it," Sam shouted.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Shia screamed. Lilith stood there with a smile on her face. Dean managed to roll onto his stomach, the hellhounds started to tear into his back. Then he's flipped onto his back again, the hellhounds feasting on his stomach . "No!"

"No," Shia whispered, her voice cracking. Blood was pouring out the gaping wounds on him. Dean stopped moving. "No."

"Yes! My next stop...that pretty little baby of yours. I figured, if I can kill you, I know I can kill that semi god that everyone seems to be so afraid of." Lilith said. She held out her hand and a white light shot through her fingers.

Shia closed her eyes. She groaned when she landed on the floor. Sam was on the floor as well, stunned.

Lilith seemed just as shocked. Shia slowly started to crawl over to Dean as Sam stood up. He took a step towards the demon. Lilith held her hand out.

"Back." He took another step. "I said back."

Sam picked up the knife off the floor. "I don't think so," he angrily said. He raised the knife, ready to kill the demon. Suddenly, black smoke flew out of Ruby's body and it crumpled to the floor.

Shia tentatively placed a hand on Dean's chest. Sam kneeled down next to her.

"You think she'll go after Lynx?" Shia asked the younger Winchester brother, her eyes still focused on Dean.

"She couldn't kill you. I doubt she'll go after Lynx."

Moments passed by, then Shia sobbed out this terrible, heart aching wailing cry. Sam placed his arms around his sister in law. They were both openly crying. Shia buried her face in Sam's chest, soaking his shirt. Sam held on to her, soothing her by brushing his fingers through her hair. Sam was just as hurt as she was...but he remembered what Dean told him months ago.

'You got to hold it together, Sammy. For Shia. She's going to be a wreck. Let it all out when she's not around through. Just...be strong.'

Sam closed his eyes, when he decided to open them his face and eyes was laced with one motion.

Revenge.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~ [A/N]

I KNOW I'VE BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG! Trust me when I say, I've missed you all! My little supernatural babies! I'm sad to say this book is done! But don't worry, you shall have the Vol 2 soon! (Seasons 4-6). I'm going to try to stay on it.

Tell your favorite part from this story. And this chapter.

I also wanted to let you all know that I'm going to go back a edit a lot of things in this book before publishing my new one. I'll let you know when the editing is done. It's going to seem like a whole new book. Lots of things change, but the story remains the same...if that makes any sense.

Anyways, I love you guys! See you soon!


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